Spacious portion of an Art Nouveau villa overlooking the Tiber River

On Via degli Strengari in Rome’s Rione Regola district stands Villino Scafi, a fine Liberty-style building constructed in 1902. The street itself is steeped in history: located between Via delle Zoccolette and the Lungotevere dei Vallati, it takes its historic name from the sellers of “strenghe” (leather laces and straps), who worked closely with the tanners historically active along the Tiber’s banks. The building fully reflects the taste of early twentieth-century architecture in Rome, in both its decorative details and architectural features. Of particular visual interest are the large entrance door and the custom design of the windows, which testify to the craftsmanship typical of Rome’s Art Nouveau period. The surrounding area underwent major urban transformations between the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, with the construction of the Tiber embankments and the nearby Ministry of Grace and Justice. As a result, this small villa is one of the best-preserved residential testimonies of the period within the surrounding medieval urban fabric.