184.

Villa Madama fuori Porta Angelica

As the title indicates, the Villa Madama is reached by following the long straight road heading north from Porta Angelica, Plate 19, in the Borgo walls. A branch from this road leads steeply up Monte Mario, upon whose flank (3) the villa is located, overlooking the river. This is the first of two prints by Vasi dedicated to this exurban villa built by Raphael for the Medici (for a view of the rear gardens see Plate 185). A clue to Vasi's emphasis on this particular villa is given by the text where he says that this is the first of the buildings in Rome to move away from "the barbarous taste of the Goths" and "to revive the magnificence of the ancient pleasure domes of the glorious Romans." The villa was begun before 1520 by Cardinal Giulio de' Medici (later Clement VII 1523-1534), but work was interrupted by the Sack of Rome in 1527. Vasi refers to its incomplete state in this print where he describes the "circular courtyard which has remained imperfect" (2).