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The villa was built from 1874 onwards for the beautiful Rosina Rosa Teresa Vercellana, the morganatic wife of Vittorio Emanuele II, Countess of Mirafiori and Fontanafredda.
The area now occupied by the villa was already present in Nolli's plan dated 1748 as Vigna lungo la via Nomentana.
Work on the construction of a new residential building, both for the casino and the gardens, began immediately after the occupation of Rome in 1870, following the lines of expansion of Via Nomentana, where Villa Torlonia and Villa Massimo (now the seat of the German Academy in Rome) were already located, and where Villa Crespi, Villa Berlingieri, Villa Blanci and Villino Ximenes, among others, were to be built in the early twentieth century.
Work on the gardens was undertaken by the German-born gardener of the House of Savoy, Emilio Richter, who designed a large garden to surround the perimeter of the building, which has now been partially tampered with. The construction of the building must be seen in the context of the many new villas built by the ambitious bourgeoisie of the new capital of the Kingdom of Italy, who wanted to show off with this type of architecture that was so fashionable in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The main residence is a neo-Renaissance style building with a loggia, two side wings and an eclectic bell tower. The entrance, with a terraced loggia, has three large arched openings on columns, decorated with beautiful stained glass windows with refined floral decorations that bear the date of construction, 1874. Later a beautiful iron and glass canopy, still in situ, was added on the western side to replace the original entrance. From here one reaches the vestibule from which the staircase, anticipated by two columns, takes shape. The floors are in mosaic and marble grit.
The palace was decorated with an abundance of stucco work (of which a few examples survive in the entrance hall), stained glass, and fine marble fireplaces, including the frescoes of the so-called Sala dei Pappagalli in the ancient atrium. This is the only large room that can convey the ancient beauty and richness of the interior. In addition to the parrots, other exotic animals painted on the ceiling, such as peacocks and monkeys, are also on display. Other rooms are decorated in tempera style and are now used as lecture halls.
Unfortunately, many of the decorations have been concealed for functional reasons by modern false ceilings that hide the building's equipment.
The park is surrounded by centuries-old trees such as maritime pines, palms, cedars of Lebanon, sequoias, a beautiful bamboo reed bed and the rustic buildings of the gardeners and an old greenhouse. The villa has been used as a set for films by Luchino Visconti and Liliana Cavani.
Villa Mirafiori was purchased by La Sapienza University in 1975. The Philosophy Department of the University is located on two floors. The park of the Villa occasionally hosts cultural events of the University.