Villa Farnesina

The Villa Farnesina is a beautiful Roman palace hidden in a very green garden, close to the banks of the Tiber River. It's located in the Trastevere neighbourhood. It can be access by a tram from Termini or by one of the many bridges that crosses over the Tiber. The villa was built in 1508 for a financier, Chigi. It was later acquired by Cardinal Alessandro Farnese in 1580, who gave it the name is has today. It is the first noble house that was ever built outside the walls of Rome, in the "suburbs".

Its facade has a style different from classical palaces, with integrated marble columns.

Palazzo Farnese was designed by Antonio da Sangallo (the younger) at the request of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese. Currently the palace is home to the French Embassy in Italy. The interior has particularly refined decoration with stucco and frescoes by various artists like Da Volterra, Salviati and Zuccari. They say these paintings and frescoes were influential to Rubens and many later artists.