We then walked south along the river to the Janiculum, Rome's largest and least important hill. The fabulously wealthy Chigi family bought this hill and built their palace on the banks of the Tiber. They were a banking family, and scored a coup by grabbing the papal accounts from the Medici of Florence, who made their fortune by financing the popes and received the Grand Duchy of Florence in return. The Chigi just received money, but unfortunately by the time they were banking the popes, they were decidedly less creditworthy, and eventually the popes reneged on their debts. Our friends from a few posts ago, the Farnese, bought the Chigi estate, renaming it Villa Farnesina. The Farnese now had elaborate palaces on both sides of the Tiber, but unfortunately the river made it inconvenient to move between the two. So, the family, unencumbered by zoning commissions and historical societies, simply built a bridge over the river connecting their two palaces. The bridge has faded into history, and the Villa Farnesina is now a museum. Only a few rooms of the palace are open, but they are covered with frescoes from some of the Renaissance's greatest artists. The hill behind the palace is now Rome's botanical gardens.

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