Antica Dimora delle Cinque Lune

Our history

Discover the historic abodes of Burcardo and Pope Pius II, whose events are closely intertwined with the Antica Dimora delle Cinque Lune

Il Burcardo

Il Burcardo, Italianised name of Johannes Burckardt, was born in 1445 in the then German town of Niederhaslach. Of humble origins, he dedicated his life to his religious vocation, obtaining various positions in the clergy. His rapid career led him to become pontifical protonotary and master of ceremonies, and he was later appointed bishop of Orte and Civita Castellana in 1503. 

Between 1491 and 1500 he built his Roman residence in the Sant'Eustachio district (the current Dimora delle Cinque Lune), which he defended until his death from the opposing property ownership claims of the powerful Cesarini family. He is remembered for his numerous writings and especially for the "Liber notarum", which is an important historical source on life at the court of the popes of the Renaissance. He died in Rome in 1506.

Pope Pius II

Enea Silvio Piccolomini, who became Pope with the name of Pius II in 1458, was a great humanist, to whom we owe the urban redesign of Pienza, his hometown, into a gem of urban planning. He was called the "neopagan" Pope for his love of the classics and the joys of earthly life. As a flirtatious and libertine cardinal, he wrote, among other things, the scandalous Historia De Duobus Amantibus. He is particularly remembered for his extravagant offer to crown Mehmed II, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Roman Emperor of the East if he converted.

The elegant and multifaceted figure of Pope Pius II is the inspiration for the interior of theAntica Dimora delle Cinque Lune, which echoes the voluptuous desire of the Italian aristocracy of that period of rebirth to surround themselves with refined visual imagery.

In particular, the furnishings on the third floor refer to Piccolomini's singular syncretic obsession with the Christianisation of the Turkish East, which he vainly attempted to absorb into what had by then become Christian imperial Rome.

The rooms on the fourth floor are dominated, in turn, by the recurrent image of the peacock that so often opens its infinite circle on the Christian sarcophagi of the first centuries and refers to the sense of immortality that is rare to breathe under other skies.

Accessibility
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Accessibility Information

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Along with our partners, we continuously strive to improve the accessibility of our website and the pages for booking rooms and/or purchasing additional products and services related to the stay. We firmly believe it is our collective moral obligation to allow seamless, accessible, and unhindered use, even for those of us with disabilities.

In our ongoing efforts to improve and consistently address accessibility issues, we regularly scan all web pages using accessibility scanners provided by third-party commercial partners to identify and fix any potential accessibility barriers on our site. Despite our efforts to make all our web pages and content fully accessible, some content may not yet have been fully adapted to the strictest accessibility standards. This may be due to not having yet found or implemented the most appropriate technological solution.

Compliance Status

This website and the room booking pages are partially compliant with the technical standard for websites and mobile applications UNI CEI EN 301549, and with the “AA” accessibility level required by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1.
In particular, the compliance level of this website is constantly monitored through the tools provided by:
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Non-accessible Content

Despite our efforts to ensure the accessibility of the website and booking pages, we are aware of some limitations we are working to resolve. Below is a description of the known limitations. Please contact us if you encounter an issue not listed below.

  • Image text alternatives: Some images do not have meaningful text alternatives for users.
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  • Focus contrast: In some cases, when elements receive focus, there may be insufficient contrast between text color and background.
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  • Focus visibility: In some pages, the element with active focus is not visually identifiable.
  • Language accessibility: Some elements display text or accessible names only in certain languages.
  • Assistive technology: Assistive technologies may not always correctly announce messages.

Last Updated

This page on accessibility was last updated on June 25, 2025.