A huge home in Rome with the only ceiling painting ever painted by Italian maestro Caravaggio is on the market for over €500 million (£422 million).

Cardinal Francesco Maria Del Monte commissioned the 2.75-metre wide fresco Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto to decorate the ceiling of his alchemy laboratory at Casino di Villa Boncompagni Ludovisi, commonly known as Villa Aurora, in the 16th century.

Villa Aurora, protected by high walls near Via Veneto in downtown Rome, is all that is left of the cardinal's hideaway.

"Del Monte bought property there and restructured it before commissioning Caravaggio to paint the mural in his lab, which was a very small room," said Alessandro Zuccari, a history professor at Rome's Sapienza University who reviewed the artwork's appraisal. "It's an extraordinary work that was difficult to value because it was Caravaggio's only mural and we didn't have anything to compare it to."

The painting, created by Caravaggio while he was in his twenties, is estimated to be worth €310 million by Zuccari. On the 18th of January, the whole property will be auctioned off, with an initial price of €471 million.

Rooms frescoed by Guercino, a baroque painter commissioned by the Ludovisi family, an aristocratic family with strong links to the pope who acquired the property from Del Monte, are also found in the edifice.

Villa Aurora was sold after a protracted inheritance battle after the death of its owner, Prince Nicol Boncompagni Ludovisi, in 2018.

"There are other rooms that are spectacularly decorated," Zuccheri remarked, "but the most important works are by Caravaggio and Guercino." "It's a one-of-a-kind location on the planet."

Other antiquities may be found on the site, although hundreds of ancient sculptures have been purchased by the Italian government and are currently housed in the National Roman Museum.

Because the site is protected by the ministry of culture, the state will have the opportunity to purchase the property at the same price if an offer is accepted at auction."The state will have the option to purchase it; the question will be whether it can afford such a high price," Zuccheri said.

Whoever purchases the home will be responsible for an additional €11 million in repair expenditures.

For most travelers, Villa Aurora has been off the beaten path. Until 2019, the only way to see the villa and its grounds was to schedule a private tour, which took place once a month.

Thanks to Angela Giuffrida at The Guardian whose reporting provided the original basis for this story.