Casino di Pio IV
The Casino of Pius IV stands inside the Vatican Gardens and is home of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences. Built in 1558 by Pope Paul IV and designed by Pirro Ligorio, the building was completed in 1561 under Pius IV, who made it a place of recreation and representation: a building of Mannerist style, highly decorated with statues and modern ancient sculptures and paintings. It consists of two separate buildings: the first is a kind of nymph fronted by a fountain, decorated with mosaics and niches with statues and ancient reliefs, as well as a Doric loggia; the second, connected to each other by a small square with oval fountain, mosaics and two Pavilions side, has a facade decorated with stucco ornaments. Inside they are preserved frescoes by Federico Barocci, Santi di Tito and Federico Zuccari.
