The nearly 500-year-old Rome landmark Villa Medici has undergone a refurb, including some surprisingly contemporary additions to its historic salons.

Italian fashion house Fendi worked with French conservation body Mobilier National to overhaul six rooms in total, many of which hadn’t seen an update in decades. Much of the furniture was drawn from the label’s own Fendi Casa homeware collection; however, there are also pieces by contemporary designers such as Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec.

The new additions cut a striking figure against the backdrop of the villa’s plaster mouldings and wall hangings – among the decorative elements that received some restoration attention from architect Pierre-Antoine Gatier and conservation specialist Bobin Tradition.

In some instances, Fendi’s artistic directors, Kim Jones and Silvia Venturini Fendi, used the original colours of the rooms as a starting point for their renovation. For example, the terracotta tones of the Petit Salon are echoed in a deep umber sofa by Toan Nguyen.

Some pieces even hark back to the Roman heyday of the capital, for example, a set of tables by Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance, which resemble the weathered paving stones of Rome’s ancient Appian Way. Villa Medici’s well-worn walls have also welcomed a new set of tapestries created by artists including Sheila Hicks and Louise Bourgeois.

Viale della Trinità dei Monti, 1, 00187 Roma RM, Italy

Explore Rome – ‘the most wonderful movie set in the world’

Scientists finally understand why Roman concrete has lasted thousands of years