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Raphaelin Rome
A tour around the sights
of Rome to discover
the Masterpieces of
Raphael Sanzio
1. BORGHESE GALLERY
2. THE CHURCH OF SANTA
MARIA DEL POPOLO
3. BARBERINI PALACE
4. ACADEMY OF SAN LUCA
5. DORIA PAMPHILJ
GALLERY
6. CHURCH OF
SANT’AGOSTINO
7. CHURCH OF SANTA MARIA
DELLA PACE
8. SANT’ELIGIO DEGLI
OREFICI
9. VILLA FARNESINA
10. VATICAN
11. VILLA MADAMA
tourism
Roma for youCollection of information by the Roma City Council
Published by Cosmofilm s.p.a. - Elio de Rosa, EditorEditorial director: Paolo GaleottiText: Sofia BarchiesiEditor: Emanuela BosiLayout: Antonio D’AlessandroGraphics: Marco C. MastrolorenziTranslations by: Protos Translations & Communication (Naples - Italy)
Photos:Reverenda Fabbrica di San Pietro Archives: 29, 30, 31, 32Roma Sacra Archives: 10, 11, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 25Artistic and Historical Treasures Service of Roma (SBAS): 6, 7, 8, 9, 15, 20Maria Teresa Natali: 24Claudia Primangeli/Soriani f.c.v:Francesca Sinagra/Soriani f.c.v.:Paolo Soriani: 12, 13, 14, 20, 26, 27, 28, 33
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A series of specialistic guides aim to prolong one’s
stay in Rome; a suggestion for people who have
“a few extra” days and desire to deepen the
knowledge of our city.
Carefully studied itineraries to accompany the visitor in the
discovery of the great patrimony of the Renaissance in Ro-
me through the testimonies of great artists such as Cara-
vaggio, Raffaello, Michelangelo.
Walks through baroque art, to admire the splendid architec-
tures by Bernini and Borromini.
Advice for everyone, alike tourists and Romans, in order to
quietly discover and enjoy the testimonies of ages that
played a major part in constructing the extraordinary pre-
sent image of our city.
Tourism OfficeMunicipality of Rome
The M
ap
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The RSan Pietro
CastelSant’Angelo
Piazza delRisorgimento
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1. BORGHESE GALLERY
2. THE CHURCH OF SANTA MARIA DEL POPOLO
3. BARBERINI PALACE
4. ACADEMY OF SAN LUCA
5. DORIA PAMPHILJ GALLERY
6. CHURCH OF SANT’AGOSTINO
7. CHURCH OF SANTA MARIA DELLA PACE
8. SANT’ELIGIO DEGLI OREFICI
9. VILLA FARNESINA
10. VATICAN
11. VILLA MADAMA
The Map
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he R iver Tibe r
Piazzadel Popolo
PiazzaNavona
PiazzaVenezia
Villa Borghese
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4
2
5
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eR
i v e r Tibe r
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ItalicForum
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BorgheseGallery
The Villa was built forCardinal ScipioneBorghese, nephew
of Pope Paul V. It was con-ceived as a centre of en-tertainment and culturalenjoyment by the archi-tect Flaminio Ponzio at thebeginning of the 17th cen-tury. Later decorated byGiovanni Vasanzio, theinterior was completelyre-arranged by AntonioAsprucci in 1770.The decorations of the sa-loons belonging to thatperiod were completelyrestored during the courseof the last work of preser-vation completed in 1997.The villa holds the splen-did family collection start-ed by Scipione Borghese, connoisseur ofboth classic and modern art.
(Photo: Paolo Soriani)
J.W. Baur, View of Villa Borghese (1636) (Photo SBAS)
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After numerous conflictingopinions, critics agree tothe attribution of the
Portrait of a Man to Raphaeland on the date 1503 - 4.
The famous Lady of theUnicorn was painted in Flo-rence in 1505 - 6. From the at-tribute of the unicorn, symbolof chastity, and the elegantpendant one deduces that it wasa young lady about to under-go matrimony with all itsvirtues. The painting, curious-ly, was discovered by RobertoLonghi, only about fifty yearsago. The portrait, in fact, hadbeen re-painted depicting aSaint Catherine of Alessandria.The more superficial varnishwas removed and thus ap-peared the splendid lady withunicorn.
The Deposition signed anddated 1507, was commissionedby the noblewoman from Peru-gia, Atalanta Baglioni, in me-mory of her son, Grifonetto,killed in 1500, during the strug-gle in the same family to con-trol the signory of Perugia. Thewoman was herself reflected inthe pain of the Virgin; that isthe reason for the prominenceof Mary’s fainting on the rightof the painting. The left half, slightly moreadvanced, is occupied with the moving ofChrist to the tomb. The young man in thecentre, in three-quarter profile, unites thetwo groups. This important painting was
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Portrait of a Man (photo SBAS)
Lady of the Unicorn (photo SBAS)
for the altar of the family chapel in thechurch of San Francesco al Prato in Perugia,from where Cardinal Scipione Borghese hadit removed to his own collection.
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Galleria Borghese, piazzale del Museo Borghese, 5 - 00197 RomaPhone 06 32.810 • 199 75.75.10 (register tickets) Fax 0632651329 • www.galleriaborghese.it • [email protected].
Times of opening: every day except Mondays, 1st January and the25th December from 9 am to 7 pm. The ticket-office closedbefore 1 hour.
Entrance: complete e 8,50, reduced e 5,25, free for under 18’s andover 65’s; e 2,00 for booking; e 5,00 guided tours.
Services: The museum has special access facilities for handicappedpeople.
The museum, with entrance very two hours, is by limited numbers;for bookings Tel 06 32810. There is a guided tour with art historiansfor each time slot. For bookings for guided tours in foreign languagesand groups of a maximum of 25 people, Phone 06 8555952.
Deposition (photo SBAS)
Santa Mariadel Popolo
The church was founded on the siteof a small chapel built by PasqualeII at the expense of the Roman
people, the reason for the later name.Completely re-built halfway through the15th century by an unknown architect,the church was fitted out with a splendidchoir made by Donato Bramante at thebeginning of the 1500’s. The simplefaçade in travertine stone, erected on thewishes on Sextus IV della Rovere, was in-stalled by Gianlorenzo Bernini. The threenave interior has side chapels which holdsome exceptional works, among whichare the funeral monuments by AndreaSansovino, the frescoes by Pinturicchioand the precious fire-glazed stain-glasswindows, the only ones in Rome, byGuillaume de Marcillat.
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9(Photo Roma Sacra)
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The Chigi Chapel,the second onthe left, was re-
constructed begin-ning in 1513, follow-ing the design byRaphael, for thebanker Agostino Chi-gi who wanted to cre-ate a mausoleum forhis family. The workstopped, however,only through the in-tervention of Gian-lorenzo Bernini be-tween 1652 and 1656,through the wishes ofPope Alexander VIIChigi. The interior issquare with the cor-ners rounded by fourangular pillars witharched niches onwhich the tambours
rest. There are eight square windows and ahemispheric dome. The roof of the votivechapel is clearly visible even from the out-side (from Piazzale Flaminio) and is inspiredby older models; a similar design was adapt-ed by Raphael in the project for the smalldomes of St. Peter’s.
Raphael supplied the cartoons for the mo-saics in the dome (God the Father, Creator ofthe Firmament and the Symbols of the sunand of the seven planets), made by LuigiPace in 1516. In the tambour and the pen-dentives, the scenes of the Creation and theOriginal Sin and the allegories of the sea-sons are, instead, by Francesco Salviati (be-tween 1552 and 1557). Raphael is also credit-ed with the design for the pyramid tomb of
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Chigi Chapel (photo Paolo Soriani)
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Agostino Chigi and his brother Sigismund,built by Lorenzetto, Raffaello da Montelupoand Bernini with important modifications.Among the statues in the niches and follow-ing Sanzio’s design there is Jonah leavingthe Whale, by Lorenzetto who was also thesculptor of Elijah (1522), completed by Raf-faello da Montelupo (1552). The altar-pieceis by Sebastiano del Piombo (1533) andSalviati (1554); Abacuc and the angel andDaniel in the Lion’s Den by Bernini.
The Chigi chapel can be considered a com-plete work of art; architecture, sculpture,painting and mosaic form a strongly unitedwhole. The plan of the chapel also brings tomind the plans of Donato Bramante,Raphael’s friend from Urbino, for the new St.Peter’s wanted by Pope Julius II.
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Church of Santa Maria del Popolo, piazza del Popolo, 1200187 Roma • Phone 06 3610836 • Fax 06 3203155Times of opening: ferials from 7 am to 12 am and from 4 pm to 7 pm;
festives from 8 am to 1.30 pm and from 4.30 pm to 7.30 pm Services: The museum does not have special access facilities for
handicapped people
Chigi chapel (photo Roma Sacra)
BarberiniPalace
Built in the park of Cardinal Pio daCarpi, the palace was planned byCarlo Maderno after ownership
passed to Francesco Barberini in 1625.Planned as a residence for the papal fam-ily, the building was provided with splen-did gardens, making a true and propertown house. The later intervention byBernini saw the construction of the cen-tral saloon (decorated with the famousfresco by Pietro da Cortona), of the log-gia with porch below and the great stair-case with squared stairwell. The designof the windows of the central part andthe plan for the great winding staircasecan be attributed to Francesco Borromi-ni. Bought by the State in 1949, thepalace holds the National Gallery of Clas-sic Art that, formed in 1895 and recentlyinaugurated, collects works dating fromthe 12th to the 18th Centuries, belongingto noble families (Torlonia, Barberini,Chigi, Sciarra, etc.)
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12 (photo Paolo Soriani)
The Fornarinais one of themost famous
portraits by Raphael,whose signature(Raphael Urbinas) isto be found on thebracelet worn by thewoman. The workcan be dated to a pe-riod between 1518and 1519. Traditionhas it that the per-son identified withthe Fornarina, theSienese MargheritaLuti, daughter ofFrancesco, bakernear the Settimianagate of Rome, whowas Raphael’s lover.The young womanwas probably theone who, according to Vassari, Raphaelloved until he died, the same who the fa-mous banker Agostino Chigi had as a guestin his suburban villa (The Farnesina) tokeep her near the artist who couldn’t workwithout her.
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The Fornarina (photo SBAS)
National Gallery of Classic Art, via Barberini, 18• 00184 RomaPhone 06 4814591 • Fax 06 32651329 • [email protected] www.galleriaborghese.it/barberini/it
Times of opening: Every day except Mondays, 1st January and 25th De-cember, from 8.30 am to 7 pm
Entrance: complete e 5,00, reduced e 2,50, free of charge for under 18’sand over 65’s
Services: The museum has special access facilities for handicappedpeople.
For bookings of guided tours with art historians in foreign languages andfor groups of a maximum of 25 people, Phone 06 8555952 (e 80 in Ital-ian, e e 104 in a foreign language)
Academy ofSan Luca
Instituted by the papal brief of Grego-ry XIII in 1577, the academy unitedartists who worked in the field of the
three arts: painting (in which miniaturesand embroideries were included), sculpt-ure and architecture. A model for theother European academies founded dur-ing the course of the 18th century, theAcademy of San Luca houses manyworks by Italian and foreign artists whoby statute, once elected “Academicians”,had to donate their self-portrait and awork of their specialisation. Set out in the Carpegna Palace, built byfollowers of Giacomo Della Porta and re-constructed halfway through the 1600’s byFrancesco Borromini, the Gallery todayhouses works by contemporary artists.
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14 (photo Paolo Soriani)
The fragment of frescowith the Cherub hold-ing a festoon is an ex-
act copy of the cherub on theleft hand side of the fresco withthe prophet Isaiah in San-t’Agostino commissioned bythe apostolic protonotary Gio-vanni Goritz. It isn’t easy to de-termine the original arrange-ment of this fresco which wassaid, in the past, to have comefrom the Vatican Palaces;where, perhaps, it decorated afireplace with the other cherub,which is now lost; and fromwhere it was removed duringthe extensions to the VaticanMuseums. The style is doubtfuland there is no lack of opinionsthat hold that the fragment is acopy from the early 1800’s car-ried out by the artist, Jean-Bap-tist Wicar.
He was commissioned by theacademy of San Luca to inspectthe fresco in Sant’Agostino inview of its restoration andcould, therefore, have made acopy which later came to itscurrent home.
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Gallery of the Academy of San Luca, Piazza Accademia diSan Luca, 77 • 00187 Rome • Phone 06 6798850 - 06 6790324Fax 06 6789243 • www.accademiasanluca.itTimes of opening: From Monday to Saturday 10 am and 12.30 am.Entrance: Free of chargeServices: The museum has special access facilities for handi-
capped people.
Cherub holding festoon(photo Academy of San Luca)
Doria PamphiljGallery
LThe gallery is situated in the splen-did palace facing onto the Piazzadel Collegio Romano. Rising on an
earlier centre dating back to the 16thcentury, the building was erected in theearly 1600’s by the Aldobrandini family.It passed as a gift to the young Olympia,widow of her first husband Paolo Borghe-se, it entered the Pamhilj family after thesecond wedding of the noblewoman toCamillo, nepotic cardinal of his uncle,Innocent X. From the second half of thecentury, the palace was enlarged accord-ing to the design by Antonio Del Grande,who also took charge of the later work atthe end of the 1600’s. In 1731, GabrieleValvassori modernised the building,constructing the famous façade in Viadel Corso.
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16 (Photo Paolo Soriani)
The attribution of the Double Portraitto Raphael, which even if in the pastwas very much debated, is now gener-
ally accepted. The question of the identity ofthe two people is still, however, open.The humanist, Pietro Bembo, in a letter tocardinal Bibbiena, says that the humanistsfrom Veneto, Andrea Navagero and Agosti-no Beazzano were portrayed by Raphael in1516 and he himself possessed a doubleportrait of the two. Nevertheless, from thecomparison with certain representations ofNavagero and Beazzano, there is a poor re-semblance to the two portrayed, who stillremain unknown.
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Double Portrait (photo Doria Pamphilj)
Doria Pamphilj Gallery, Piazza del Collegio Romano, 200186 Rome • Phone 06 6797323 • Fax 06 6780939 www.doriapamphili.it • [email protected] of opening: every day except Thursdays, the 25th December, the 1st
January, Easter, the 1st May the 15th August and the 1th Novem-ber from 10 am to 5 pm.
Entrance: complete e 8,00; reduced for the elderly and students, andgroups; private apartments is restoration; A service of au-dio-guide in Italian, English and French is included in the en-trance ticket. The Gallery is open for the whole of August,except for the 15th.
Services: The gallery has special access facilities for handicapped people.
The church ofSant’Agostino
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18 (Photo Roma Sacra)
Was erected in 1420, enlarged atthe end of the same century andtransformed by Luigi Vanvitelli
halfway through the 1700’s. The monu-mental steps at the entrance connect thechurch to the city. The three nave interiorholds many famous works, besides thefamous Caravaggio and Raphael: the“Madonna del Parto” by Jacopo Sanso-vino (1521), the decoration of the righttransept by Guercino and the tomb ofSanta Monica di Isaia by Pisa. Next dooris the Angelica Library, the first publicone in the city, founded at the beginningof the 1600’s and set in the buildingbegun by Francesco Borromini.
On the third pillaron the left ofthe central
nave, is the recentlyrestored fresco byRaphael portrayingthe Prophet Isaiah.The prophet is sittingon a throne betweentwo cherubs who areholding up a tabletwith a dedication, inGreek, to St. Anne, tothe Holy Virgin and toJesus and the initialsof the apostolic prono-tary, Giovanni Goritz,who commissioned it.Starting with Vassari,the evident inspirationby Raphael of theMichelangelo-styleprophets of the SistineChapel was noted,which the artist hadmanaged to see whilehidden, thanks to thehelp of his friend Do-nato Bramante. Thework can be datedback to 1511-12.
The Prophet Isaiah (photo Roma Sacra)
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Church of Sant’Agostino, Via della Scrofa, 8000186 Rome • Phone 06 68801562 • Fax 06 68215193 • 066833547 • [email protected] of opening: every day from 7.40am to 11am and from 4pm to 7.30pmServices: The church does not have special access facilities for
handicapped people.
Santa Mariadella Pace
The church, once dedicated to St.Andrew (it was called Sant’Andreade Aquarizariis), was re-built prob-
ably by Baccio Pontelli, in 1482 as a vo-tive offer for the peace between SextusIV and Ferrara. Alessandro VII Chigi com-missioned Pietro da Cortona to restore itin 1656; the convex façade relates to thiswork and connects the church to the pre-ceding town-planning scheme. The planis in the old 15th century style, coveredby an octagonal gallery and dome, thework of Sangallo, and by a short nave oftwo spans. Besides the fresco byRaphael, there are works by Baldassarre,Peruzzi, Rosso Fiorentino, MarcelloVenusti, Orazio Gentileschi and others.
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Around the arch of thechapel of the banker fromSiena, Agostino Chigi
(the first on the right), Raphaelpainted a fresco portraying thefour Sibyls: the Cumaean, thePersian, the Phrygian and theTiburtinan, who alternate withangels bearing tablets andscrolls with the prophecies. Atthe centre of the arch, there is acherub with a torch. The dateof the cycle is still uncertainbut thought to be around 1514and 1515.
The design repeats the fig-ures of the Ancestors byMichelangelo in the SistineChapel, which had been inau-gurated a short while before.The figures of the Prophets,above the sibyls have been at-tributed to Timoteo Viti, one ofRaphael’s students. The frescowas, for many centuries, theonly work by Sanzio visible tothe public, becoming a schoolfor generations of artists. Thechapel was still incomplete onthe death of Raphael and theclient, both dying in 1520.
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Church of Santa Maria della Pace, Via della Pace, 500186 Rome • Phone 06 6861156Times of opening: every day from from 10 am to 12 am.
Closed on Saturday and on SundayServices: The museum does not have special access facilities for
handicapped people.
Chigi Chapel, decoration(photo Roma Sacra)
Sant’Eligiodegli Orefici
The design of the church ofSant’Eligio degli Orefici;erected by the important
guild of gold- and silver-smiths andwhich still has its headquartersthere; has been attributed toRaphael and dated 1514 - 15. From1516 comes the first news of theconstruction, finally completed,however only in 1551. Importantmodifications to the building weremade at the end of the 1500’s. Thefaçade dates back to the early1600’s. The current look of the inte-rior is the result of restoration workcarried out in 1977 - 78. Despite thevarious works carried out, the at-mosphere maintains an aspect ofrefined solemnity, determined bythe luminous and geometric har-mony of the various parts of the buildingand inspired by the architecture of DonatoBramante, independently of the exactindividualisation ofthe specific contribu-tions to the designby Raphael and theother architect, Bal-dassare Peruzzi, whocould have succeed-ed him. The choiceof a Greek cross planinfluenced by theBramante-style de-signs for St. Peter’s isimportant.
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Church of Sant’Eligio degli Orefici, Via Sant’Eligio 8/a00186 Rome • Phone 06 6868260Times of opening: the church is open Mondays and Tuesdays from
10.30 am to 12.30 am and Thursdays and Fridays from 3 pmto 5 pm.
Services: The museum does not have special access facilities forhandicapped people.
(Photo Roma Sacra)
(Photo Roma Sacra)
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This means the suburban villa builtby Peruzzi at the beginning of the1500’s for the Sienese banker
Agostino Chigi, passing, in 1580, to theFarnese family. Built along the banks ofthe Tiber, about halfway between the isletTiberina and the Regina Coeliprison, it is the absolute prototypeof the suburban villa in Rome,uniting harmony and proportion,according to those canons of theRoman culture of the 16th century.There is a central block with sideprojections, loggia and reservoir,besides the frescoes by Raphaeland shop, the famous room withChigi’s horoscope, decorated byBaldassarre Peruzzi and Sebastia-no del Piombo, Venetian Artist, whowas in Rome thanks to the assis-tance of the rich banker.
VillaFarnesina
The Farnesina (photo Paolo Soriani)
The Galatea detail (photo Paolo Soriani)
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The villa holds, on theground floor, the famousportrayal of the Galatea.
Raphael painted it for the famousSiena banker in 1511, under alunette frescoed by Sebastiano delPiombo - the author, together withPeruzzi, of the rest of the decorat-ions of the room. The Nereid isstanding on a shell pulled by apair of dolphins driven by the littlePalemones, around the agitatedretinue of tritons and nereids andabove a cherub throwing darts.
Some years later, in 1517,Raphael and his school frescoed,for Chigi, the ground floor galleryof his suburban villa. The subjecttells of the fable of Psyche takenfrom the Golden Ass by Apuleius.The decoration of the loggia de-velops around a mock pergola, inwhich, between festoons of fruitand flowers, the 10 panels unfolddisplaying the figures that, sil-houetted against the blue sky,glorify the fable. On the ceiling arethe famous Council of the Godsand the Wedding feast of Eros andPsyche. Outside Villa Chigi, the re-mains of the stables were also byRaphael. The design was done inabout 1512 and provided a façadeon to Via della Lungara. The work
was soon damaged and only fragments of theplinth with the bases of pilaster strips remain.
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Villa Farnesina, Via della Lungara, 230 • 00165 Rome • Phone 0668027345Fax 06 68801767 • www.lincei.it • [email protected] of opening: every day from 9 am to 1 pm. Closed on SundaysEntrance: complete e 4,50, reduced e 3,50; free of charge for under
18’s and over 65’s.Services: The museum does not have special access facilities for
handicapped people.
La Loggia di Psiche
La Loggia di Psiche (detail)(photo Paolo Soriani)
The Vatican
The first nucleus of the VaticanPalaces was built halfway throughthe 15th century, after the when
the popes, the Avignonese Captivity atan end, decided to transfer their resi-dence from the Lateran to the Vatican.The first residence, of square design, hada quadrangular central courtyard (thecourtyard of the parrot) to which the otherbuildings were slowly added.The Vatican Museums; which, besides theart gallery, hold priceless works; were builtfrom the 1700’s on, arranging the papal col-lections started in the Renaissance period.The rooms decorated by Raphael are thoseconstructed by Nicholas V (halfway throughthe 15th century). Already decorated by Piero
della Francesca, Andreadel Castagno and othersthey were completely re-structured under Julius IIby Bramante who calledon a whole crew of artiststo paint the rooms,among them were Peru-gino, Sodoma and Loren-zo Lotto. Later the archi-tect called Raphael, en-trusting him with all thedecorations and dis-missing all the others.The rooms are underrestoration not yet com-pleted.
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25(Photo Paolo Soriani)
The four rooms frescoed by Raphael andhis assistants between 1508 and 1524are in the quarters once inhabited by
the popes, starting with Julius II.The Stanza di Costantino, used for offi-
cial ceremonies and receptions, was entirelydecorated by the workshop of the Urbinan,after his death in 1520. The scenes, depictedon false tapestries, are: The Baptism of Con-stantine, The Battle of Ponte Milvio, and TheApparition of the Cross and The Donation ofRome to pope Silvester. Here the theme isthat of the victory over paganism and of thesettlement of the Church in the towns. Alle-
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The School of Athens (detail) (photo Musei Vaticani)
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gorical figures, Pon-tiffs and virtue are inthe corners.
The Stanza d’E-liodoro is next; it wasonce a secret anti-chamber to the apart-ment. The theme ofthe decoration, car-ried out between 1512and 1514, is of a politi-co-religious nature.
The frescoes por-traying the BolsenaMass, The Liberationof St. Peter, TheMeeting of LeoneMagna with Attilaand The Expulsion ofEliodoro, are almostall autographs. Thecaryatids of the plinths by Francesco Penniand the vault with scenes from the Old Testa-ment by Guillaume de Marcillat complete thedecoration.
You pass into the Stanza della Segnatura,the first to be done, chronologically (1508 -11); it is Raphael’s masterpiece. Originally thestudy and library of the Pontiff, it became theseat of the judicial tribunal, hence the name. Itwas frescoed following a precise theologicalprogramme.
The episodes portrayed are: The School ofAthens, The Delivery of the Canonical Law,Parnassus and The Debate of the Sacrament.
The last room is the Stanza dell’Incendiodi Borgo, at one time dining room and formusic. It is the last room Raphael worked on,he only did the cartoons, and the execution ofthe work was done entirely by his workshop(Giulio Romano, Francesco Penni). The ideaof the decoration was to praise the reigningPontiff, Leo X Medici, through the narrationof episodes taken from the life of two popeswith the same name, Leo III and Leo IV (The
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Loggia by Raphael (photo Musei Vaticani)
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Coronation of Charles the Great, The Fire ofBorgo, The Battle of Ostia and The Justifica-tion of Leo III).
The vault with the Allegories of the HolyTrinity is by Perugino, the portrayal of the at-lases in the corners are by Giulio Romano andthe splendidly inlaid doors are by G. Barile
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The Coronation of the Virgin (photo Musei Vaticani)
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and Fra Giovanni daVerona.
The Loggia byRaphael (visitablefrom the Sala diCostantino with thepermission of themanagement) is to befound on the secondfloor of the Pontiff’sPalace. It is formed ofthree structures of log-gias one above theother, designed byBramante for Julius IIin 1508. On the deathof the architect (1514),Raphael was commis-sioned to complete thework, which includedthe decoration andthe fresco (1519). Theother two loggias were decorated by Giovannida Udine during the course of the 16th centuryand are not visitable.
Episodes taken from the Old and NewTestaments are portrayed (The Stories fromGenesis, Stories of Moses and of David,Stories of Christ). The paintings were mostlydone by the students of Raphael, who realiseda true and proper teamwork: among the othersare also Giovanni da Udine and Perin del Vaga.
In the Vatican art gallery there are severalimportant works by Raphael, in salon VIIIdedicated to him: The Coronation of theVirgin, The Madonna di Foligno, TheTransfiguration and ten tapestries.
The Coronation of the Virgin portraysthe Apostles who, standing next to the emptytomb and looking towards heaven, witnessthe event. The altar-piece, with altar-step withstories of the Virgin, was commissioned at thebeginning of the 1500’s by Maddalena degliOddi for the church of St. Francis at Perugia.
Acquired by the French in 1797, it returned
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The Madonna di Foligno (photo Musei Vaticano)
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to Italy some years after, coming to its currenthome.
The Madonna di Foligno was commis-sioned before 1512 by Sigismund dé Conti, asvotive offer for the saving of his house atFoligno after being struck by lightning, portray-ed in the background, behind the figure of acherub holding a tablet which probably
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The Transfiguration (photo Musei Vaticani)
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recorded the miracle. The client is portrayedon the right, kneeling and presented by St.Jerome. On the left are St. John the Baptistand St. Francis of Assisi and above, in thecentre, the Virgin with Child. Formerly in thechurch of Aracoeli, it was transferred to thechurch of St. Anne at Foligno in 1565 by anephew of Conti. In Paris, as booty ofNapoleon, it returned to Italy at the beginningof the 19th century, coming to its currenthome. In the room, several showcases holdthe ten tapestries with scenes taken from theActs of the Apostles, that Leo X commis-sioned Raphael to do in 1515. The artist alsodesigned the cartoons completed with thehelp of his students and fabrics by the fa-mous Pieter van Aelst of Brussels. The tapes-tries were exhibited for the first time in thevault of the Sistine Chapel, in 1519.
The Transfiguration was commissionedin 1517 by Cardinal Julius de Medici who in-tended giving it to the Cathedral of Narbona.Completed by Raphael shortly before hisdeath, it is considered one of his master-pieces. In 1523, it was placed in the church ofSt. Peter in Montorio where it remained until1797 when it was taken to France. It returnedto its present home in 1815. The great panelhas, in the centre, the figure of Christ, clear inthe light between Moses and Elijah; beloware the Apostles Peter, James and John;while, in the foreground, are the other Ap-ostles with bystanders and a possessed child.
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Vatican Museums, Viale Vaticano, 100 • 00165 RomaPhone 06 69884947 • 06 69884676Times of opening: from november to february: from monday to fri-
day from 8.45 am to 12.20 am (1.45 pm); from march to oc-tober: fron monday to friday from 8.45 am to 3.20 pm (4.45pm); Every saturdays and the last sunday’s mounth from8.45 to 12.20 am (1.45 pm)
Entrance: complete e 12,00; under 14 years, schools and studentsup to 26 years e 8,00.
Services: The museums have special access facilities for handicapped people.
Villa Madama
Is built on the slopes of Monte Marioand is one of the finest examples ofRenaissance town house, where var-
ious elements flow together, recalling, inparticular, the antique decorations. Aftera long period of decay, the building wasrestored in 1913 by Pio Piacentini, whocompleted the right hand half of thesemicircle with the building behind, for-merly put in order in the 1700’s.
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Visit
32 Villa Madama (photo Paolo Soriani)
Designed by Raphael in 1519for Julius de Medici, laterPope Clement VII. Only a
small part of the initial plan re-mains, drawn up in collaborationwith Antonio da Sangallo, youngand known only from two plans,some studies and a letter fromthe artist. The reference to theantique is a decisive factor in thebuilding - especially to Pliny’s vil-la, seen, in particular, in the inte-gration of the decorations (typi-cally archaeological) and archi-tecture. The building, finished bythe student Giulio Romano, is ongrandiose constructions in nicheform (given the steepness of theground) that support the palace,completely immersed in lawnswhich, arranged in terraces, cre-ates a very picturesque environ-ment.
Since 1940, the villa has beenthe seat of the Foreign Ministry.
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Villa Madama, Via di Villa Madama • 00194 Rome • Phone 066779311 • Fax 06 6789952Times of opening: The villa can be visited with special permission from
the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and the Sovriten-dence office
Villa Madam (photo Paolo Soriani)
Villa Madam (photo Paolo Soriani)
Life
The Life of the Artist
Raphael was a son of art: the father, Giovanni Santi di Pietrowas a good painter at the Court of Urbino, governed bythe famous Federico da Montefeltro (who died the year
before the birth of Raphael in 1482).At eleven years old, he entered Perugino’s workshop, receiving
his education in an environment that was very favourable toartistic activities, enriched by the experience of Piero dellaFrancesca, Francesco Laurana and the young Bramante.
Raphael’s role in the workshop, into which he was acceptedthrough the help of his father; a great admirer of the maestro,grew quickly. He became called “magister” during his commis-sion for the altar piece of the blessed Nicola da Tolentino, for thechurch of Sant’Agostino at Città di Castello. This commissionmarked the debut of the artist and demands came thick and fast.In this period, Raphael showed himself to be close to Perugino inhis style, but would gradually stand out on his own. In 1502, hewas called on by Pinturicchio to produce designs for the frescoesfor the Piccolomini bookshop of the Cathedral of Siena.
In 1504, he painted the Wedding of the Virgin at Brera and in theautumn of that year, he moved, a twenty-one-year-old, to Flo-rence; a city that was then going through a good cultural periodbecause of the double presence of Leonardo and Michelangelo;presenting himself to Pier Soderini. The painter, however, did notlose contact with Umbrian and Urbinan clients. In the Tuscan city,Raphael made contact with all the great artists of the period, whohe spent cold winter evenings with; the famous “vernate” whereart was discussed apart from warming themselves with thewarmth of the fire and wine. In 1508, he moved to Rome, into theservice of Pope Julius II, introduced by his friend Donato Bra-mante. In the same year he began the frescoes of the Stanza dellaSegnatura in the papal apartment, then going on to other roomsin the Pontiff’s apartment. In 1513, Leo X placed at the side of Bra-mante in the Factory of St. Peter. The next year, he took over theprestigious commission on the death of the architect. In 1515, thesame Pontiff appointed him Curator of Roman Antiquities. At thesame time, he entertained artists and scholars. In 1519 he workedon the scenery for a play by Ariosto. The famous letter on the An-tiquities of Rome is, perhaps, from the same year.
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RaphaelSanzio
Life
He died at thirty-seven, after a short illness, on Good Friday (hewas also born on a Good Friday), 6th April, 1520. Pico della Mi-randola, announcing the death of Raphael, said that the heavenshad gone dark and the palaces rent apart, thus creating a parallelwith the death of Christ. There is a legend that the artist diedthrough amorous excesses, but it was Raphael himself whospread word of his sentimental adventures, fostering the myth ofhis being a great lover.
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Pietro Melandri, Raffaello (photo Paolo Soriani)
His W
orks
• Dresden, Gemäldegalerie:Madonna Sistina
• Florence, Pitti PalacePortrait of Agnolo Doni,La Velata,The Vision of Ezekiel,The Madonna della Seggiola,Portrait of Fedra Inghirami
• Florence, Uffizi GalleryMadonna del Cardellino,Portrait of Leo X with two cardinals
• Munich, Alte PinakothekThe Holy Family
• Paris, LouvreThe beautiful gardener’s wife,Madonna del diadema,Portrait of Joan of Aragon,Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione
• Urbino, National GalleryThe mute
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The main works ofRaphael in the greatmuseums of the world.
