Cardinal Giulio de' Medici, who later became Pope Clement VII, commissioned Villa Madama. Raphael made the initial design, and Antonio da Sangallo the Younger oversaw construction, with a large team for decoration. Construction began in 1518. Raphael died in 1520, and work largely stopped in 1521 after the death of Leo X. It restarted in 1523. The article says the villa was never completed, and that it is unclear how much can be attributed to any one artist.
It was one of the first revivals of the Roman suburban villa type. It has a courtyard with a monumental staircase, a circular court, a hillside open-air theater and a terraced garden with views of the Tiber. Giovanni da Udine made the stucco bas-reliefs.
The Sack of Rome in 1527 damaged parts of it. The Italian government owns it and uses it for international guests.
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