The Villa Farnesina, built in the early 16th century for the wealthy banker Agostino Chigi, is one of Rome’s finest Renaissance villas, though its main draw for classicists lies in its subject matter rather than its antiquity. Its frescoed rooms, painted by Raphael and his workshop, along with Sebastiano del Piombo and others, depict scenes from classical mythology, most famously the “Triumph of Galatea,” in which the sea nymph rides a shell-drawn chariot across the waves, and scenes from the story of Cupid and Psyche in the villa’s loggia. The villa illustrates how deeply Renaissance artists and patrons drew on Greek and Roman mythology to decorate their homes, making it a valuable stop for understanding the classical tradition’s afterlife in later European art. [Editor’s note: the original site listed this page but never added content. This paragraph was drafted as a placeholder and should be reviewed/expanded by Dr. Siegel.]