Palazzo Farnese
Discover Palazzo Farnese
Last updated on October 5, 2026Introduction
Palazzo Farnese is among the finest palaces of sixteenth-century Rome, and you cannot walk into it. It is the seat of the Embassy of France and of the École française de Rome, and entry is possible only on a guided visit in Italian, French or English, with tickets bought on the official site up to five days beforehand.
It took seventy-six years and four architects. It was commissioned in 1513 by Alessandro Farnese (1468–1549), the future Pope Paul III, and finished in 1589, built under the direction of Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, who gave the original design; Michelangelo (1546–1549); Vignola (1569–1573), who designed the rear façade; and finally Giacomo Della Porta.
The reason to get inside is a ceiling. On the piano nobile, the celebrated Gallery was frescoed between 1597 and 1604 by Annibale Carracci, working with his brother Agostino, Domenichino and Giovanni Lanfranco. Its mythological subjects, drawn largely from Ovid's Metamorphoses, use optical and perspective games to superimpose sculpture, painting and architecture.
There is more by the same hand, and more by others. Annibale Carracci also frescoed the private study known as the Camerino Farnese, while the Sala dei Fasti Farnesiani was painted by Francesco Salviati and the brothers Taddeo and Federico Zuccari.
And since May 2024 there is a new half of the visit, underground. The Sotterranei hold archaeological material from three different periods of ancient Rome, including two black-and-white mosaics — one of animals and sea monsters, the other of circus acrobats on horseback, the Desultores.
Treat the security as real. This is a diplomatic seat: checks are reinforced and the guards reserve the right to refuse entry to anyone who will not comply.
Architecture
Four architects worked on this façade and you can see where the last one changed his mind about the top.
Sangallo set the terms. Antonio da Sangallo the Younger supplied the original project from 1513: a wide, flat, regularly bayed front of three storeys over a rusticated base, in the High Renaissance manner.
Michelangelo gave it the cornice. Directing the work from 1546 to 1549, he crowned the building with a projection far deeper than the elevation beneath it — the element that stops the façade reading as merely correct.
Vignola supplied the other face. Between 1569 and 1573 he designed the rear façade, so the palace addresses its garden with a different composition from the one it shows the square.
Della Porta closed it out, bringing the fabric to completion by 1589.
Inside, the architecture is carried on in paint. The Gallery was frescoed 1597–1604 by Annibale Carracci with Agostino Carracci, Domenichino and Giovanni Lanfranco, using optical and perspective games that superimpose sculpture, painting and architecture — framed pictures apparently propped on painted cornices held by painted figures.
Two further painted rooms belong to the same programme. The Camerino Farnese, Annibale Carracci's again, and the Sala dei Fasti Farnesiani, by Francesco Salviati and the Zuccari brothers.
How it was built and evolved over time
It was built across seventy-six years by four successive directors of works, which is why it is worth looking at as a sequence. Commissioned in 1513, completed in 1589.
The client became a pope mid-project. Alessandro Farnese, who ordered it, became Paul III — so a cardinal's palace was finished for a pope's family, at a scale that reflects the change.
Each architect inherited rather than started. Sangallo the Younger set the design; Michelangelo (1546–1549) worked on an existing building; Vignola (1569–1573) added the rear front; Della Porta finished what three men had already shaped.
The decoration came after the architecture, by a generation. The Gallery was painted 1597–1604, eight years after the fabric was done, by a team rather than a single painter: Annibale and Agostino Carracci, Domenichino, Lanfranco.
And the newest work is excavation rather than construction. The Sotterranei, opened in May 2024, contain material from three different periods of ancient Rome — the palace sits on ground far older than itself.
Frequently asked questions
Can I just turn up? No. Entry is only on a guided visit, with tickets bought on the official site up to five days beforehand.
What languages are the visits in? Italian, French and English.
Why is security so heavy? Because the palace is the Embassy of France — a diplomatic seat, where checks are reinforced and guards may refuse entry to anyone who does not comply.
How much does it cost? We do not quote a price. The city publishes the booking route but no figure, so take the price from the official site when you book.
Who built it? Four architects in turn: Antonio da Sangallo the Younger (original project), Michelangelo (1546–1549), Vignola (1569–1573, the rear façade) and Giacomo Della Porta. Commissioned 1513, finished 1589.
Who commissioned it? Alessandro Farnese (1468–1549), the future Pope Paul III.
What is the Gallery? The celebrated room on the piano nobile, frescoed between 1597 and 1604 by Annibale Carracci with Agostino Carracci, Domenichino and Giovanni Lanfranco, mostly on subjects from Ovid's Metamorphoses.
Can I see the underground rooms? Yes — the Sotterranei have been visitable since May 2024, with two black-and-white mosaics, one of animals and sea monsters and one of the Desultores.
What else is in the building? The École française de Rome, a research institute and library.
Can I see anything for free? The main façade, from the piazza, at any hour.