Villa Farnesina's Raffaello frescoes go digital as exhibition postponed to 2021

Villa Farnesina in Rome has launched an augmented reality program for its Raffaello frescoes, originally planned for 2020 exhibitions marking 500 years since the artist's death. The digital project, accessible at http://vcg.isti.cnr.it/farnesina/loggia/, allows detailed examination of the Loggia's pictorial cycle, including 170 plant species and 50 animal figures, plus previously unseen underdrawings from the 1970s beneath Sebastiano del Piombo's Polifemo and Raffaello's Trionfo di Galatea. Created by Antonio Sgamellotti, Virginia Lapenta, Eliana Siotto, and Gianpaolo Palma of the Visual Computing Lab ISTI-CNR, the tool compensates for the absence of tour guides due to health measures. Meanwhile, the exhibition 'Raffaello e l’Antico nella Villa di Agostino Chigi' has been postponed to March 25, 2021. Curated by Alessandro Zuccari and Costanza Barbieri, it focuses on banker Agostino Chigi, a major patron of Raffaello alongside popes Julius II and Leo X. The show will feature loans from the Museo Nazionale Archeologico di Napoli, Galleria degli Uffizi, and Musei Vaticani.