If you’re looking to experience the artistic splendour of Rome’s High Renaissance without battling the dense crowds of the Sistine Chapel and the Raphael Rooms, make time for the remarkable yet often overlooked Villa Farnesina in Trastevere.
Highlights
Hidden Gems
- The Room of the Frieze
- Alexander and Roxanne's Wedding Hall
- The Gallery of the Grotesques
Tour Includes
- Tour of the splendid Villa Farnesina
- Private English-speaking expert guide
- Skip the line tickets
Create Your Custom Journey
Our dedicated team is here to help you design the perfect trip. We’re happy to assist every step of the way.
We’ve Got You Covered!
Can’t make your trip? Cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund, minus any ticket costs.
ITINERARY
What To Expect On Your Tour
The Seduction of the Renaissance
Join us on one of our most fascinating private Rome tours, in a beautiful villa where you can almost breathe the air of the Renaissance. Villa Farnesina, with its richly decorated rooms and spacious garden, evokes the climate of enthusiasm and freedom of the time period. The Renaissance was characterized, even before it was known for the rediscovery of Classical art, by the re-evaluation of the human experience – what we perceive, what we see and what compels us. It’s no coincidence that Renaissance art rediscovers the naturalistic representation of reality, centers on human figures, and often depicts man and woman in their spontaneous nudity and innate beauty. The vibrant scenes of a dashing Cupid and a beautiful Psyche frescoed on the immense ceiling of the entrance hall of Villa Farnesina certainly grab any visitor’s attention.
On your exclusive Villa Farnesina Tour you will explore an elegant Renaissance home with a knowledgeable private guide. Despite its central location in the middle of Trastevere, just a short walk from the Vatican, the Villa Farnesina is overlooked by most visitors to Rome. It remains one of the Eternal City’s hidden gems, a tranquil private home that attracts discerning art lovers, and those looking for a unique private tour of Rome.
The Villa's Owner: Agostino Chigi
Agostino Chigi, the Sienese banker who undertook the construction of the villa in 1506, lived in Rome in the golden years of the Renaissance. In these years dozens of great artists, led by Bramante, Raphael and Michelangelo, were in the city and worked mainly for the greater glory of popes and cardinals, and to satisfy a wider thirst for beautiful art. Agostino Chigi was no different; despite not being a man of pronounced culture, he was a great lover of art.He had amassed an immense fortune, mostly thanks to the exclusive access to the alum (a mineral salt used in fabric dying) mines of Tolfa 50 kilometers from Rome given to him by Pope Alexander VI Borgia at the end of the fifteenth century. The exponential increase in the production of luxury products during the Renaissance gave Agostino enormous sums of money, which were further augmented by the profits of his bank. Chigi’s bank lent money to the popes themselves, from the aforementioned Alexander VI to Julius II and Leo X Medici, all of whom were engaged in the great building activity of the Vatican.
Learn about the lives of the Renaissance elites
Our private Rome tour covers the various halls of the Villa Farnesina, such as the Loggia di Galatea, the Loggia of Cupid and Psyche, the Hall of the Perspectives and the Wedding Hall, which open a window onto the intimate life of the rich and powerful of the time. The Loggia of Galatea, besides having a cycle of frescoes on the vaulting linked to the horoscope of Agostino Chigi, preserves the splendid Galatea of Raphael, a triumph of the beauty of the nymph Galatea, shown supported by a shell floating on the water in a festive procession of mythical figures that Raphael depicts with lightness and refined sensuality.
Galatea: Raphael's Renaissance Masterpiece
Our private Rome tour covers the various halls of the Villa Farnesina, such as the Loggia di Galatea, the Loggia of Cupid and Psyche, the Hall of the Perspectives and the Wedding Hall, which open a window onto the intimate life of the rich and powerful of the time. The Loggia of Galatea, besides having a cycle of frescoes on the vaulting linked to the horoscope of Agostino Chigi, preserves the splendid Galatea of Raphael, a triumph of the beauty of the nymph Galatea, shown supported by a shell floating on the water in a festive procession of mythical figures that Raphael depicts with lightness and refined sensuality.
Trompe l'Oeil Trickery in the Hall of the Perspectives
The Hall of the Perspectives, frescoed with rural and urban landscapes that create the illusion of an immense portico, was the place where Agostino Chigi held his never-ending, extravagant wedding banquet in 1519. In addition to the sixteenth century panelled ceiling, the Wedding Hall also has outstanding frescoes of the wedding of Alexander the Great and the beautiful Roxana, drawing a clear parallel with the wedding of the banker and his bride.
The Loves of the Gods in the Hall of Cupid and Psyche
The Hall of Cupid and Psyche transports the visitor to a mythical world of exuberant beauty and festivity. The innumerable vicissitudes of the beautiful Psyche and her tormented affair with the no-less-beautiful and divine Cupid are suspended on the immense ceiling among gigantic depictions of garlands of flowers and fruits; the effect is truly spellbinding. The narration culminates in the central scene of the wedding banquet celebrated by Cupid and Psyche, in the presence of all the gods of Olympus, under a shower of flowers and perfume. Divine celebration for the greatest love story of all time…
Join us on this luxury Rome tour to discover the myriad splendors of the Renaissance!
Create Your Custom Journey
Our dedicated team is here to help you design the perfect trip. We’re happy to assist every step of the way.
What Our Guests Are Saying
Guests Reviews
Greek mythology and famous artwork not to be missed at the villa farnesina
we loved our visit to the villa farnesina. It is full of frescoes depicting greek mythology, and our guide, brandon green, brought it all to life! He is an excellent guide–very knowledgeable and equally nice. We learned so much and had unobstructed views of the artwork because there were no crowds.
It was amazing to be standing in the beautiful home built by agostino chigi between 1506-1510. The famous frescos, by raphael, including the triumph of galatea and the myths of cupid and psyche were a thrill to see. The fresco of the wedding of alexander and roxane was beautiful, as was the renaissance architecture of the home. The theme of the house is love.
We were passing through rome, on a private tour, and took the rome night tour by car: the magic of the eternal city (another tour with through eternity tours) with brandon the evening before. It was also a great experience. I’m so glad we were able to fit these tours into our schedule. Good memories!
A very pleasant and informative tour. Would recommend to anyone who has visited the first
tier attractions and is looking for something off the radar of most tourists.
