The Seventeenth Century in Villa Farnesina

Exceptional Discoveries

The exhibition The Seventeenth Century in Villa Farnesina, which will be held in Rome from November 6, 2024 to January 12, 2025, will present new discoveries on the seventeenth-century decoration of the villa. Unpublished frescoes found above the nineteenth-century vault, which until now has hidden them, will be on display to the public. These frescoes decorate the ancient living room and include:

• A sky with putti flying around the Farnese coat of arms
• Two putti on a blue background in the corbels
• An autumn landscape in the only visible lunette The exhibition, sponsored by the Association of Friends of the Accademia dei Lincei and in collaboration with the École Française de Rome, is curated by Alessandro Zuccari and Virginia Lapenta. The aim is to explore the results of the works created by Raphael in the Villa Farnesina and the fortune of the iconographic subjects conceived by the master.

Advanced Technologies and Historical Research

Through digital technologies and the photographic campaign by Luigi Spina, the 17th century frescoes, dating back to the Farnese period (from 1579), will be presented. The three-dimensional reconstruction will allow us to visualize the transformations of the living room, returning an image of the original decoration. Between 1861 and 1863, the Villa underwent major restoration. The architect Antonio Sarti found serious structural damage due to the load of the walls above the vaults. This led to the division of the main hall into two parts, distorting the original spatiality. The discovery of the frescoes, spared by the installation of the elevator, is a fundamental piece of news for better understanding the building and its seventeenth-century decorative phase.

A Study Opportunity

This discovery offers the opportunity to examine more deeply the influence of the style of Raphael in seventeenth-century Rome. The exhibition will present for the first time at the Farnesina six important paintings inspired by the frescoes of the Urbino artist and his collaborators. Among the works on display:

• Two Allegories commissioned by Farnese attributed to Antonio Carracci
• Galatea by Pietro da Cortona
• Galatea by Andrea Sacchi The exhibition is dedicated to Professor Natalino Irti, who generously contributed to the restoration of the Villa, financing the recovery of the seventeenth-century decoration.