Hidden away by 19th-century renovations, the newly-discovered frescoes at the Villa Farnesina were likely painted by Baroque artist Carlo Maratta around 1693.
©luigispinaThe newly-discovered 17th-century frescoes in the vaulted ceiling of the Villa Farnesina.
When electrician Davide Renzoni was called out to Rome’s Villa Farnesina last year, it was for nothing more than a simple, routine check of some cables. However, Renzoni noticed a small trapdoor in the villa’s vaulted ceiling — beyond which was the discovery of a lifetime.
Sealed away above the ceiling were three massive 17th-century frescoes that remained untouched by the passage of time.
Hidden 17th-Century Frescoes Found Behind A Roman Villa’s False Ceiling
LaVanguardia/YouTubeDavide Renzoni with one of the frescoes he discovered at Villa Farnesina.
Built between 1506 and 1510 for the papal banker Agostino Chigi, Villa Farnesina was a stunning, innovative architectural marvel of its time. Seated on the banks of the Tiber River, it features a U-shaped floor plan — notably different from the average Renaissance urban palazzo. It was intended as an airy summer pavilion, and Chigi also commissioned several artists to create frescoes for the building.
Most famously, Chigi commissioned artists such as Raphael, Sebastiano del Piombo, Giulio Romano, and Il Sodoma. However, Chigi was not the only patron to commission art at the Villa Farnesina — though this was not discovered until quite recently.
Wikimedia CommonsThe fresco painted by Italian artist Raphael.
As Euro News reports, when electrician Davide Renzoni was asked to examine some cables in the villa, he discovered that elusive trapdoor in the ceiling. On the other side, he was greeted with magnificent frescoes, preserved through the centuries by their isolation.
“The first thing I saw was the landscape behind me and this ‘putto’ (cherub). Then I saw that there was another trapdoor, I went to get a lamp to have more visibility and when I turned it on, out came this wonder, these frescoes,” Renzoni recalled. “My first feeling, since I am not an expert in the field and I had never experienced something like this before, was astonishment, immense astonishment.”
Renzoni was not alone in his astonishment. He quickly contacted the curator of Villa Farnesina, Virginia Lapenta, who shared in his excitement.
LaVanguardia/YouTubeDetail of one of the frescoes uncovered at Villa Farnesina.
“The surprise, as you can imagine, was accompanied by great emotion, also due to the fact that the Accademia dei Lincei now carries out numerous studies and research projects at Villa Farnesina through a cultural heritage research center,” Lapenta said.
The frescoes had been covered when the vaulted ceiling was added to the villa in the 19th century, and remained hidden ever since. For some reason, knowledge of their existence was lost to history — but as a result, the frescoes are in immaculate condition.
Now, experts are conducting analysis on the newly-discovered frescoes to learn more about their history and the artist behind them.
Analysis Reveals The Origins Of The Hidden Frescoes At Villa Farnesina
LaVanguardia/YouTubeA close-up of a cherubic figure that’s part of one of the newly-discovered frescoes.
Based on the current examinations of the frescoes, experts have determined they were likely created by the Italian Baroque painter Carlo Maratta and his pupils, Girolamo Troppa and François Simonot. Around 1693, Maratta was commissioned to restore Villa Farnesina’s Cupid and Psyche by Raphael, but it seems the painter also chose to make some new additions of his own to the villa.
Wikimedia CommonsSituated along the Tiber River in the suburbs of Rome, Villa Farnesina has stood for 500 years.
Although the discovery was made last year, curators for the villa kept the find under wraps until now, while conservators and researchers worked to restore and study these magnificent frescoes that had remained hidden away for centuries.
After reading about these newly-discovered frescoes at the Villa Farnesina, learn all about the Italian artist Artemisia Gentileschi and how she sought revenge on her assaulter through her artwork. Then, learn about the location of the background behind Mona Lisa in Da Vinci’s famous painting.
