Villa Farnesina

Trastevere, Gianicolo, Testaccio

Villa Farnesina
  • Location: Villa Farnesina
  • Address: Via della Lungara 230
  • E-Mail: farnesina@lincei.it
  • Phone#: 06 68027268
  • Booking phone#: 06 68027397
  • Opening: Mon.-Sat. from 9am to 13pm. Sunday closed
  • Price: full € 5 - reduced € 3
  • Visit lasts: 1 hour e 30 minutes (about)
  • Services:
One of the absolute masterpieces of Renaissance Rome. It was originally built for the banker from Siena, Agostino Chigi, who commissioned Baldassarre Peruzzi to carry out its construction (1506-10), while the decor was executed by  Raphael and his students (1511-19). On the ground floor is the Loggia of Love and Psyche and the Hall of Galatea; on the second floor is the Hall of Perspectives and the Bedroom. The villa passed over to the Farnese family in 1590 from which it gets its name and then to the Borbone family in 1714. The construction of  the embankments of the Tiber brought about the desruction of part of the gardens and the loggia, which may have been another work of Raphael.
THINGS TO KNOW: Curiosity: The splendid banquets of Agostino Chigi are the stuff of legend. In 1518, he went as far as throwing all the  dishes and golden flatware into the Tiber. However, he was smart enough to have his servants collect it afterwards, thanks to nets carefully placed at the ready for that exact purpose.