This is one of the two central panels of the Loggia of Cupid and Psyche, a finely frescoed environment of the beautiful Villa Farnesina on Lungotevere. This building is a real symbol of that Renaissance, in this case that of the beginning of the sixteenth century, in which the taste for beauty merged with the strong inspiration, or rather attraction, towards ancient art and myths. great pleasure to come here, to taste some of that art that made Rome magnificent.

Just think that the Loggia of Cupid and Psyche, decorated by the most active and important workshop of the early 16th century, that of Raphael, takes its name from an ancient myth told by Metamorfosi of Apuleius. This story was known by all the writers and artistic circles of the Renaissance, so much so that there are numerous canvases or frescoes of the time that show the story or some of its salient points. In this case, however, in this extraordinary Loggia frescoed by the most skilled artists of Raphael's workshop (such as Giovanni da Udine), we can read the most important moments of the myth. The interesting thing, before going on to tell the episode, is how in this loggia it really seems to be in a sort of portico, an open place that connects the villa with the front garden: look up and see the blue of the sky or the numerous natural garlands, complete with fruits of the different seasons placed side by side, always gives an idea of abundance, elegance, fantasy and illusion.

But now let's move on to the story that sees Cupid and Psyche as the protagonist. The myth tells of the young Psyche, a beautiful girl daughter of a king. The woman was so beautiful that many men fell in love with her, even going so far as to compare her to Venus. Obviously, the Goddess was not happy to be associated with a mere mortal, and threatened her father with horrific tragedy if he did not sacrifice his daughter. Reluctantly, but to save the kingdom, the king agreed to take his daughter to an area beneath a cliff where a monster resided who would carry out the sentence of Venus. The Goddess, among other things, had given a mandate to her son, Eros (or Love), to take the young Psyche (which in Greek means Soul) from her feet. Well, even Amore, however, fell in love with the young woman who, once she went down the cliff, was surprised to find, in the middle of a dense wood, a sumptuous and very rich palace. Hesitating a little, and even frightened by the expectation of a terrible monster, Psyche began to wander through the luxurious halls of the palace, until she entered a bedroom. The sun had now set, the trees in the woods around the palace cast even more shade, if anything was needed, and there were no candles. When Psyche entered, she immediately sensed a presence: not threatening, not harmful or dangerous, but a presence that called her incessantly, binding her to her. And so Psyche, for nights and nights, copulated on the great one of that room with that kind of presence whose face she could never see. For Psyche it was like a dream, although she couldn't see the being she made love with every night. Whenever Psyche set out to figure out who she spent all nights with, the creature refused and refused, never revealing herself. One night, then, after making love again, Psyche returned to the bedroom with a candle and a knife, just as a precaution. Psyche was amazed when, in the soft light of the candle, she saw the face of Cupid, the son of Venus, who fell madly in love with the young woman. Cupid was unable, from the very beginning, to harm Psyche, as Venus would have liked, and for this reason he began to love her in the shadows, out of sight of his mother. But when Psyche entered with the candle, and when Amor, frightened, ran away and wounded himself with her knife, the affair was discovered. Venus, therefore, tried in every way to punish her son and, above all, poor Psyche.

But thanks to Zeus’s intercession, in the end everything went the right way. "Because love is strong as death, passion is tenacious as hell", how Apuleio written in his Metamorfosi. Love wins over everything, in every sense, and this is the proof. That same love that Agostino Chigi, landlord of this extraordinary villa, felt for a Venetian courtesan with whom he built a very talked-about relationship, causing scandal. But he went his own way, exactly as Love did, to then come to a happy ending. In this fresco, and the myth narrated through it, we can read the same worries, the same pains, but also the same will to fight and face the adversities that animated Agostino Chigi and his beloved. Reality and fantasy together, here at the Villa della Farnesina.

And as we can see in this joyful fresco, the wedding between the two took place, on the heights of Olympus. A love story from other times, therefore, made up of intrigues and loves, impediments and violence too. A mythological episode that will become a symbol of love itself, which can give and take away at the same time. And in this fantastic loggia, in a Renaissance villa, through these frescoes we can still enjoy the values of myth and society of the time. But it doesn't end there, because the Villa Farnesina has other pictorial treasures to show: try, for example, to click here...