Raphael and Fornarina: true love lasts forever

Once upon a time, a young painter met a beautiful girl in Rome, and it was love at first sight.
Have you ever heard about the love story between Raphael and Fornarina?

Who was Fornarina?

Her real name was Margherita Luti, daughter of a baker (“fornaio”) in Trastevere (from whom she took the nickname Fornarina).
Rumors described her as one of the most beautiful women in Rome. During her life, she often posed for Raphael, like in the painting Madonna della Seggiola, or Madonna Sistina, or even for her portrait La Fornarina.
Stories say she lived at Via di Dorotea, where her father had the bakery, and that is where the magic happened.  

“Fornarina. She was a beautiful woman. That is all you need to know.”

G. Flaubert

When Raphael met Margherita…

One day, while the painter was walking in Trastevere, he saw Margherita brushing her hairs on a balcony. Raphael fell immediately, deeply, in love.
At that time, he was working at Villa Farnesina for Agostino Chigi and he couldn’t stop thinking of her. Agostino was seriously worried: because of this crush, Raphael couldn’t complete his frescoes!
To make him work faster, Agostino had only one thing to do: allowing Margherita to stay with Raphael at Villa Farnesina.

Raphael and Fornarina according to Vasari

One of the main historical sources of that time is Giorgio Vasari. In his book, The Lives(Le Vite), he says the first meeting between Raphael and Fornarina was not so romantic as expected.
Raphael saw Margherita bathing in the Tiber and since then he felt overwhelmed by desire. In fact, Vasari wrote how the painter was a “very amorous man and affectionate towards the ladies”.
Moreover, according to the writer, Raphael was already engaged with Maria Bibbiena, niece of Cardinal Bibbiena. While her uncle pushed for a soon-to-be-celebrated wedding, the painter kept delaying it – probably because, as some say, he married Margherita in secret.

How the story ends

In 1520, Raphael got terribly ill: since they were not officially married, he had to send her away from his deathbed. On April 6^th, 1520, Raphael died.
Margherita felt heartbroken: she decided to enter in the convent of Santa Apollonia, at Trastevere, where she stayed until her death in 1522. 

Their love story has inspired many artists: painters (Federico Faruffini, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres), sculptors (Pasquale Romanelli) and also photographers (Joel-Peter Witkin).
Thanks to them, Raphael and Fornarina will live together happily ever after.