Agostino Chigi

Agostino Chigi ( 1465 - 1560 ) was an Italian banker of Renaissance .

Born in Siena , Chigi was the member of ancient and illustrious Household . He moved to Rome around 1487, collaborating with his father Mariano. The heir of a rich capital, and enriched further after loaning huge amounts of money to Pope Alexander VI , and to other rulers of the time as well. He also detenained lucrative monopolies like the Salt Harvests of the Papal States and the Kingdom Of Naples , as well as that of the Alum excavated in Tolfa , Agnato and Ischia .

After the death of the Borgia pope, he helped family, and creating him treasurer and notary of the Apostolic Chamber. Agostino set economic relationships with the whole Western Europe, at one time having up to 20,000 emplyees, receiving from Siena the title of ''Magnifico'' ("Magnificent").

Chigi became also a rich patron of art. His protegées included almost all the main artistical figure of the early , Sebastiano Del Piombo , Giovanni Da Udine , Giulio Romano , Sodoma and Raphael . With the exception of the first one, these figures were called to the decoration of his splendid Villa built on the shore of the Tiber River , today known as Villa Farnesina . Here Chigi held sumptous receipts. In order to show his contempt of money, he was used to throw all the silver dishes in the river after the end of the parties: however, his servants were secretly ready to recollect them with apposite nets.

Chigi commissioned Raphael the construction of a chapel in the church of Santa Maria Del Popolo in Rome , in which he was buried after his death in 1520 . Another family chapel was built in Santa Maria Della Pace .

SEE ALSO

Chigi Family

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Agostino Chigi