Often in Rome, you end up stumbling into something wonderful. One night we found ourselves at a fabulous jazz concert at Villa Torlonia, where Mussolini lived with his family for 18 years.

We’d been to Villa Torlonia some years back to see another part of its history — Mussolini’s air-raid bunker. But this evening, as part of the wonderful Night at the Museums, we were in what had been his home but is now an art museum. The villa itself is quite lovely, as it had earlier been the villa of the wealthy and noble Torlonia family, from which it gets its name. Il Duce “persuaded” the family to rent it to him for one lira per year.

Not only are there many beautiful rooms, but also an art collection, mostly statues.

After touring the villa, we took a seat for the concert. The bandleader had brought part of his collection of historic saxophones, some of which were quite unusual. The band played away, to a very appreciative audience, ourselves included.

At the end of the evening, we headed home. But the next day, we headed back to see more of Villa Torlonia.