 Although it has been claimed that Alphonse Donatien Francois, the Marquis de Sade, was witness to this renewal, this could not have happened between 1723 and 1743, as de Sade was born in 1740; the date of 1766 does, however, align with de Sade's time in Italy.In 1833 the "Collegio Propaganda Fide" bought the Villa in 1833; they sold it 10 years later to Duke Pio Grazioli, whose family kept the property for more than a century.In 1943 and 1944, during World War II, the surrounding area was heavily bombed, and the Villa was occupied by squatters, then left in a state of great disrepair.