Agostino Chigi
Agostino Andrea Chigi | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Siena, Italy |
| Died | April 11, 1520 (aged 53) |
| Occupation(s) | Financier, art patron |
| Known for | Patronage of Renaissance art, banking for Popes Alexander VI and Julius II |
Agostino Andrea Chigi (29 November 1466 – 11 April 1520) was a prominent Italian financier and a distinguished supporter of Renaissance art.
Originating from Siena, he was the son of Mariano Chigi, a leading banker within the influential Chigi family. Around 1487, he relocated to Rome to join forces with his father. Utilizing considerable inherited wealth alongside profitable loans extended to Pope Alexander VI and other sovereigns, Chigi gained control over lucrative monopolies such as the salt trade in the Papal States and Kingdom of Naples, as well as ownership of the alum mines at Tolfa, which were crucial for the textile manufacturing sector.
Following the death of Alexander VI, Chigi became a financial backer of Pope Julius II, who rewarded him by appointing him as treasurer and notary of the Apostolic Camera and forging ties with the della Rovere family. He accompanied Julius II on military expeditions in 1506 and 1510, and in 1511 was sent to the Venice to secure Venetian support during the War of the League of Cambrai.
Chigi developed expansive commercial networks throughout Western Europe, employing a workforce that reached up to 20,000 individuals. His hometown of Siena honored him with the title Il Magnifico. Renowned as "undoubtedly the wealthiest individual in Rome," his estate was valued at approximately 900,000 ducats upon his passing.
Beyond his banking ventures, Chigi was a major patron of arts and letters, endorsing figures such as Pietro Aretino. Although his formal education was limited, he commissioned significant projects from leading artists including Perugino—famed for the Chigi Altarpiece—Sebastiano del Piombo, Giovanni da Udine, Giulio Romano, Sodoma, and Raphael.
Among his most famous commissions with Raphael are a chapel within Santa Maria della Pace, his funerary Chigi Chapel in Santa Maria del Popolo, and the suburban residence later called Villa Farnesina. This villa, designed by painter-turned-architect Baldassare Peruzzi, functioned both as a home and a banking headquarters—contrary to the typical practice among Roman bankers who kept their business separate from their living spaces. The villa is adorned with Raphael’s fresco Triumph of Galatea and was known for extravagant gatherings that reflected Chigi’s stature. According to legend, after these banquets he would toss silverware into the Tiber River as a display of indifference toward material wealth, although servants reportedly retrieved these items secretly.
In 1519, Chigi wed his Venetian mistress Francesca Ordeaschi; their four children were subsequently legitimized through a papal decree.