Villa Sacchetti at Castelfusano

The Villa Sacchetti at Castelfusano is near Ostia, the port of ancient Rome. It was built between 1624-8 for the Sacchetti family, close associates of Pope Urban VIII, and was the first architectural work of Pietro da Cortona who became the foremost painter of his day and a leading architect in the evolution of Baroque architecture in Rome.[1] The villa is now known as Villa Chigi since its acquisition by the Chigi family in the eighteenth century.

The villa has a generally fortified appearance; it is block-like with corner bastions and has a belvedere terrace at the top; there were occasional attacks by pirates along the coast.[2] The plan layout, recorded in drawings by Pier Leone Ghezzi (circa 1735),[3] is simple and straightforward and lacks the formal inventiveness of Cortona's later architectural work, including the Villa Pigneto del Marchese Sacchetti.

The ground level has a central hall with staircase and was otherwise given over to service rooms. On the third level, there is a gallery spanning the length of the building with frescoes by Cortona and other artists of the time including Andrea Sacchi.[4] There is also a chapel decorated by Cortona.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Zirpolo Lilian H. 'The Villa Sacchetti at Castelfusano: Pietro da Cortona's earliest architectural commission' Architectura 26, 1996, pp 166-184
  2. ↑ Merz J.M., Pietro da Cortona and Roman Baroque Architecture, 2008, p 11
  3. ↑ Published in Merz, 2008, 11
  4. ↑ See Zirpolo, Lilian H. 'Images of Privilege and Power in Pietro da Cortona's Frescoes at The Villa Sacchetti at Castefusano' Gazette des Beaux-Arts 137, 2001, 115-138 or for a summary, Zirpolo Lilian H. Ave Papa Ave Papabile, the Sachetti Family, their art patronage and political aspirations, 2005, 79-85
  5. ↑ Zirpolo, 2005, 85-92

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