Villa Farnesina

Villa Farnesina, located in the Trastevere district of Rome, is a masterpiece of Renaissance architecture built between 1506 and 1512 for the Sienese banker Agostino Chigi. Designed by the architect Baldassarre Peruzzi, the villa is famous for its extraordinary frescoes and its elegant horseshoe-shaped plan that opens towards the garden. Agostino Chigi, a renowned patron and prominent figure in Renaissance Rome, desired a residence that reflected his wealth and power. Peruzzi’s project, inspired by Vitruvian models and the work of Francesco di Giorgio Martini, created an innovative suburban villa that soon became a prototype imitated throughout Rome. The building’s facades, decorated with Tuscan pilasters and a relief frieze of cherubs and garlands, stand out for their understated elegance and the absence of overly ostentatious architectural elements.The villa is renowned for its frescoes, created by the greatest artists of the time, including Raphael, Sebastiano del Piombo, Giovanni da Udine, Giulio Romano, and Peruzzi himself. The Loggia of Psyche, frescoed by Raphael and his school, is one of the most important works, with stories from Apuleius’ “Metamorphoses” and a rich intertwining of vegetal festoons that include about two hundred botanical species. The frescoes, completed in 1517, show a harmonious fusion of art and nature, enhancing the sense of continuity between the loggia and the garden.Another highly significant room is the Hall of Galatea, where Raphael painted the “Triumph of Galatea,” a representation of the nymph on a chariot pulled by dolphins, surrounded by sea creatures. Next to Raphael’s fresco is the monumental Polyphemus by Sebastiano del Piombo, depicting the cyclops in love with the nymph Galatea. The lunettes of the room, painted by the same artist, depict mythological scenes from Ovid’s “Metamorphoses.”The Hall of Perspectives, located on the upper floor, is another masterpiece by Peruzzi. Frescoed as if it were an open loggia, the room offers illusionistic views of Rome and the surrounding landscape. The frescoes, completed in 1519, demonstrate great skill in the use of perspective and architectural illusionism, creating the illusion of open and airy spaces.One of the most fascinating rooms is the Hall of the Wedding of Alexander and Roxane, frescoed by Sodoma. The main scene, depicting the wedding of Alexander the Great and Roxane, is a masterpiece of detail and symbolism, with references to alchemical hermeneutics and classical mythology. The room, used by Agostino Chigi as a bedroom, celebrates the virtues and successes of the patron, allegorically represented by Alexander the Great.Villa Farnesina has had a turbulent history. After Agostino Chigi’s death in 1520, the villa underwent a period of decline and was stripped of furnishings and artworks. In 1580, it was purchased by Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, from whom it took its current name. During the ownership of the Bourbon of Naples in the 18th century, the villa underwent further modifications and restorations.In 1927, Villa Farnesina was acquired by the Italian State and restored to become the seat of the Accademia dei Lincei, one of the most prestigious Italian cultural institutions. Today, the villa is open to the public and hosts cultural events, conferences, and temporary exhibitions.An interesting anecdote concerns Agostino Chigi’s marriage to Francesca Ordeaschi, celebrated in the villa in 1519. During the wedding banquet, the silver plates used were thrown into the Tiber River to demonstrate the banker’s wealth, but they were recovered thanks to a secret net set up in the river.