Agostino Chigi, a wealthy Sienese banker and treasurer to Pope Julius II, commissioned the villa. Baldassare Peruzzi, a pupil of Bramante, designed it, perhaps with help from Giuliano da Sangallo. It was built from 1506 to 1510 in Trastevere as an airy summer pavilion. The U-shaped plan has a five-bay loggia between the arms, unlike the rectangular urban palazzi of the time.
Raphael painted the Triumph of Galatea and the Cupid and Psyche loggia. The Galatea vault records Chigi's birth on November 29, 1466, at 9:30 pm. Sebastiano del Piombo, Giulio Romano and Il Sodoma also painted here, and Peruzzi decorated the first-floor salone with trompe l'oeil. Giovanni da Udine painted over 170 plants.
The Farnese family acquired it in 1577, which gave it its name. It is owned by the Italian state and houses the Accademia dei Lincei. The main rooms, including the loggia, are open to visitors.
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