THE splendid Roman residence where Benito Mussolini lived during his glory years has opened to the public for the first time.

Yesterday the first group of visitors was shown the grand chandeliers in the ballroom, the extravagantly decorated bathrooms and the underground bunkers that Il Duce had built in case of bombing.

Left to itself after the Second World War, the three-storey, white marble edifice began to disintegrate. A roof fell in, thieves looted furniture and precious frescoes were ravaged by damp. But a four-year restoration, costing €5.5 million (£4 million), has put right most of the damage.

Walter Veltroni, the Mayor of Rome, said that Villa Torlonia had suffered 50 years of neglect mainly because the nation had tried to “remove” the experience it represented.

“There are places that become victims of history, places darkened by feelings of guilt, embarrassment and unjust fears of what memories might be awakened,” he said at the opening ceremony. “Villa Torlonia is one of these places. Now people can visit it serenely.”

Villa Torlonia was home to Mussolini and his family from 1924 until 1943. The dictator loved the residence and, in letters, he described his pleasure at rising early to ride or play tennis in the grounds.

Visitors can see his bedchamber, which is connected by a long external balcony to the room of his wife, Donna Rachele. His bed is scheduled to arrive soon, along with other period furniture to replace items stolen or vandalised.

The main structure was built in the early 19th century by the Torlonia family of Roman aristocrats. It is laden with frescoes and friezes showing images of Ancient Roman and Greek splendour that the Duce enjoyed as he sought to return Italy to its imperial glory.

Experts rave about the spectacular ballroom, decorated by 19th-century Roman artists with scenes of Mount Parnassus, and the wide marble staircase flanked with magnificent bronze figures.

Eugenio La Rocca, the cultural superintendent of the Rome council, said that the villa was “perhaps the most beautiful 19th-century building in the city.”

It became Allied headquarters when British and American troops fought their way through Italy in 1944. Restorers decided to leave evidence of their presence: a cluster of dart holes on a wall and a few amateurish paintings of exotic female dancers left by American soldiers.

Visitors will also see a network of underground tunnels and bunkers, protected by 4 metres (12ft) of reinforced concrete, which Mussolini had built as a refuge in case of attack from the air.

On the site of an Ancient Roman tomb, there is a little sealed chamber designed to be used in the case of a gas attack. Another tunnel leads to a circular room, entirely underground, frescoed as if it were an Etruscan tomb.