Aerial view

Raphael's greatest work as an architect was the villa he began on the Monte Mario just outside Rome for Cardinal Giulio de' Medici, now known as the Villa Madama. The plan, which was worked out by 1518, was described very fully in a letter by Raphael that reveals his profound study of Vitruvius and Pliny, his knowledge of such Roman remains as Emperor Hadrian's villa near Tivoli and, of course, the somewhat similar schemes of Bramante in the Belvedere of the Vatican. It reveals that Raphael was no mere paper architect: he enjoyed solving practical planning problems, making ingenious accommodations both to the site and to the user's needs - for air, cool, quiet, privacy, views, defence, advertisement. The round courtyard of the villa was partially built, showing its extraordinary arrangement of large and small brick columns, almost entirely concealing the wall to which they are applied.

View the ground plan of Villa Madama.