The Villa Sacchetti, also called Castello Chigi, is a historical building at Castelfusano, near Ostia Antica, Rome, Italy. It was built in 1624-1629 for the Sacchetti family, close associates of Pope Urban VIII, and was the first architectural work of Pietro da Cortona.[1] The villa is now known as Castello Chigi since its acquisition by the Chigi family in the 18th century.
The villa has a generally fortified appearance; it is block-like with corner bastions and has a belvedere terrace at the top; there were occasional attacks by pirates along the coast.[2] The plan layout, recorded in drawings by Pier Leone Ghezzi (circa 1735),[3] is simple and straightforward and lacks the formal inventiveness of Cortona's later architectural work, including the Villa Pigneto del Marchese Sacchetti.
The ground level has a central hall with staircase and was otherwise given over to service rooms. On the third level, there is a gallery spanning the length of the building with frescoes by Cortona and other artists of the time including Andrea Sacchi.[4] There is also a chapel decorated by Cortona.[5]