Rome (AFP) - A Roman villa housing the only mural by Caravaggio failed to sell for a second time Thursday, the lawyer charged with the sale told AFP.
"Nobody turned up to the auction," Antonella Scano said, adding that they would try again on June 30, with the price tag further reduced.
Villa Aurora, long the seat of the noble Ludovisi Boncompagni family, is being put up for sale following a bitter dispute among its heirs.
It was originally valued at 471 million euros ($534 million) -- a cool 350 million euros of which are for the Caravaggio alone.
It is the only mural the Baroque master of chiaroscuro ever painted.It depicts Roman gods Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto, along with the signs of the zodiac in the centre.
But the 2,800-square metre (9,200-square foot) residence failed to attract any bids at an auction in January and the price was dropped by 20 percent.
It will now go down another 20 percent, to 301 million euros.
Located near Rome's Piazza di Spagna, the villa is currently home to Princess Rita Jenrette Boncompagni Ludovisi, the Texas-born widow of Prince Nicolo Ludovisi Boncompagni.
It is up for sale after a fallout with her late husband's children from his first marriage.
