Villa Madama in Rome

Architects: Raffaello Sanzio, Giulio Romano, Antonio da Sangallo the Elder

Villa Madama is a suburban villa in Rome located on the slopes of Monte Mario, on the right bank of the Tiber near the Foro Italico, in the Municipio XVII. It is used as a representative seat by the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Italian Republic.
The works for its construction began in 1518, under the papacy of Leo X (Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici), at the behest of his cousin Cardinal Giulio de' Medici. In the period following the Middle Ages, in fact, the new Roman society left the dark and fortified palaces within the walls, to enjoy peaceful stays in the country villas. In those years, the pomp and elegance of the villa, later called the "Farnesina", commissioned by the banker Agostino Chigi and built by Baldassarre Peruzzi in Via della Lungara, caused quite a stir. The future Pope, therefore, also wanted to commission the construction of a country villa on a spur on the slopes of Monte Mario.
For this purpose he commissioned Raphael Sanzio to carry out the project, and Antonio da Sangallo the Younger (Raphael's assistant on the construction site of St. Peter's) to take care of the execution of the works. The works were slowed down by Raphael's premature death in 1520 at the age of 37 but they resumed and the building part was completed (1524-1525) after the election of Giulio who became the second pope of the Medici family with the name of Clement VII (1523). A formidable group of artists were involved in the works. In addition to Antonio da Sangallo, Giulio Romano, heir of Raphael's workshop, was present on the construction site and dedicated himself to the decorations together with Baldassarre Peruzzi and Giovan Francesco Penni. Giovanni da Udine took care of the stuccoes and Baccio Bandinelli of the sculptures.
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