Home

Visit Rome following 8 XVIIIth century itineraries XVIIIth century Rome in the 10 Books of Giuseppe Vasi - Le Magnificenze di Roma Antica e Moderna The Grand View of Rome by G. Vasi The Environs of Rome: Frascati, Tivoli, Albano and other small towns near Rome A 1781 map of Rome by G. Vasi An 1852 map of Rome by P. Letarouilly Rome seen by a 1905 armchair traveller in the paintings by Alberto Pisa The 14 historical districts of Rome An abridged history of Rome How to spend a peaceful day in Rome Baroque sculptors and their works The coats of arms of the popes in the monuments of Rome Pages on a specific pope Pages complementing the itineraries and the views by Giuseppe Vasi Walks in the Roman countryside and in other towns of Latium following Ferdinand Gregorovius A Directory of links to the Churches of Rome A Directory of links to the Palaces and Villas of Rome A Directory of links to the Other Monuments of Rome A Directory of Baroque Architects with links to their works A Directory of links to Monuments of Ancient Rome A Directory of links to Monuments of Medieval Rome A Directory of links to Monuments of Renaissance A Directory of links to Monuments of the Late Renaissance A list of the most noteworthy Roman Families Directories of fountains, obelisks, museums, etc. Books and guides used for developing this web site An illustrated Glossary of Art Terms Venice and the Levant Roman recollections in Florence A list of Italian towns shown in this web site Venetian Fortresses in Greece Vienna seen by an Italian XVIIIth century traveller A list of foreign towns shown in this web site
What's New!

Detailed Sitemap

All images © by Roberto Piperno, owner of the domain. Write to romapip@quipo.it. Text edited by Rosamie Moore.
Page revised in August 2010.
To the Italian visitors of my web site

Villa Madama fuori Porta Angelica (Book 10) (View C3)  (Day 8)

In this page:
 The plate by Giuseppe Vasi
 Today's view
 Villa Madama
 Museo dell'Arma del Genio

The Plate (No. 184)

Villa Madama fuori Porta Angelica

Villa Madama is located between Porta Angelica and Ponte Milvio; when in 1760 Giuseppe Vasi visited it he found the site in such poor condition that he decided to leave a record of the building for future generations; he therefore included two views and a plan of Villa Madama in his last book of etchings. At the time the villa belonged to the King of Naples, who inherited it from his mother, the last of the Farnese; similar to Palazzo Farnese and Orti Farnesiani the villa was stripped of its works of art which were sent to Caserta and Naples to embellish the royal palaces. The etching shows a spontaneous vegetation creeping along the small roofs of the circular courtyard and the casino gives the impression of being closed.
In the description below the plate Vasi made reference to: 1) Main casino designed by Raphael and completed by Giulio Romano; 2) circular courtyard which was not completed; 3) side towards the hill (Monte Mario). The small late XIXth century map here below shows: 1) Villa Madama; 2) site of today's Museo dell'Arma del Genio; 3) Ponte Molle (Milvio). 3) is shown in another page.

Small viewSmall map

Today

The view today
The view in July 2010

Villa Madama was acquired by the Italian Government in the 1930s; it is now used by the Italian Foreign Office for dinners, conferences and for hosting prominent visitors; for security reasons the premises are not open to the public and only the upper part of the casino is visible from a great distance. To the right of the building there is evidence of a modern terrace.

Villa Madama

Modern gate
Modern entrance to Villa Madama

According to Vasi, Villa Madama was the first of its kind in Rome; while it is true that Casino del Belvedere was built a few years earlier, the design of the former anticipated those of many later villas, while the latter had the outer appearance of a small castle.
Villa Madama was built by Cardinal Giuliano dei Medici on the site of a farm bought by his cousin Pope Leo X; the casino was designed by Raphael, while Antonio da Sangallo the Younger gave advice on the structures needed for terracing the hill; after the death of Raphael, his scholar Giulio Romano completed and decorated the casino. In 1523 Cardinal Giuliano dei Medici was elected Pope Clement VII and at his death in 1534 the villa was inherited by Alessandro de' Medici and eventually by Margaret his widow; she was the natural daughter of Emperor Charles V and later she married Ottavio Farnese, grandson of Pope Paul III. Madama is a reference to Margaret which applies also to Palazzo Madama, although this second property returned to the Medici at her death.

Vasi's plan
Plan of the casino by Giuseppe Vasi, showing that the building was very small


Read Henry James's account of his visit to Villa Madama in 1873, where the writer describes the appalling conditions of the site.

Museo dell'Arma del Genio

Museo del Genio
Façade

The area surrounding Villa Madama was developed in the 1930s and it retains several examples of the monumental style which characterized that period; the project for this building was developed by Gennaro de Matteis, an officer of Arma del Genio (Military Engineering), who refrained from the excess of decoration which is visible in works of other architects of that period (see a page on EUR for more examples of this style).

Excerpts from Giuseppe Vasi 1761 Itinerary related to this page:


Villa Madama
Il Card. Giulio de' Medici eresse il nobilissimo casino di questa gran villa col disegno di Raffaello da Urbino; ma passato questo all'altra vita, e assunto quello al Pontificato, rimase imperfetto dalla parte di levante, ove si vede il principio di un magnifico cortile in forma di teatro ornato di colonne. Nelle logge, che sono dall'altra parte vi sono delli stucchi lavorati egregiamente da Gio. da Udine con bassirilievi e prospettive a similitudine degli antichi, che sono stati veduti nelle rovine del Colosseo, ed altrove; e nella sala sonovi delle pitture a fresco di Giulio Romano. Questa delizia gode tutti li prati Quinzj, e il corso del Tevere fin dal ponte molle, e da una loggia nell'alto della macchia si scopre mirabilmente tutta Roma. Spetta ora al mio Sovrano il Re delle due Sicilie.
Quindi scendendo al basso, e proseguendo il cammino per lo stradone alberato verso Ponte molle, si vedono a sinistra delle vigne.

Next plate in Book 10: Secondo Prospetto del Casino di Villa Madama
Next step in Day 8 itinerary: Secondo Prospetto del Casino di Villa Madama