Palazzo Farnese. The Palazzo Farnese or Farnese Palace is one of the most important High Renaissance palaces in Rome. It contains the Farnese Hercules, a massive marble sculpture of the mythological hero Hercules, which dates back to the 3rd century AD. It also displays the Farnese Bull, another ancient marble sculpture, which depicts the myth of Dirce, who was tied to a bull by the sons of Antiope and then killed. The sculpture dates back to the 2nd century AD and was also discovered in the Baths of Caracalla. It is one of the largest and most complex ancient sculptures in existence, featuring multiple figures and intricate details. The Palazzo Farnese also is the home of the Gallery of the Carracci, a series of frescoes painted by Annibale Carracci and his team in the late 16th century. The frescoes cover the walls and ceiling of the palace's main gallery and depict scenes from classical mythology, including the loves of the gods, the triumph of Bacchus, and the story of Cupid and Psyche. The Gallery of the Carracci is considered one of the masterpieces of Baroque art, and it has had a profound influence on the development of European painting. Owned by the Italian Republic, the palazzo was given to the French government in 1936 for a period of 99 years, and currently serves as the French embassy in Italy. First designed in 1517 for the Farnese family, the building expanded in size and conception when Alessandro Farnese became Pope Paul III in 1534, to designs by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger. Its building history involved some of the most prominent Italian architects of the 16th century, including Michelangelo, Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola and Giacomo della Porta. At the end of the 16th century, the important fresco cycle of The Loves of the Gods in the Farnese Gallery was carried out by the Bolognese painter Annibale Carracci, marking the beginning of two divergent trends in painting during the 17th century, the Roman High Baroque and Classicism. The famous Farnese sculpture collection, now in the National Archeological Museum of Naples, as well as other Farnese collections, now mostly in Capodimonte Museum in Naples, were accommodated in the palace. The most imposing Italian palace of the 16th century, according to Sir Banister Fletcher, this palace was designed by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, one of Bramante's assistants in the design of St. Peter's and an important Renaissance architect in his own right. Construction began in 1515 after one or two years of preparation, and was commissioned by Alessandro Farnese, who had been appointed as a cardinal in 1493 at age 25 and was living a princely lifestyle. Work was interrupted by the Sack of Rome in 1527. When, in January 1534 Alessandro became Pope Paul III, the size of the palace was increased significantly and he employed Michelangelo who completed the redesigned third story with its deep cornice and revised the courtyard as well. The post-1534 developments were not only a reflection of Alessandro's change in status but employed architecture to express the power of the Farnese family, much as at their Villa Farnese at Caprarola. The massive palace block and its facade dominate the Piazza Farnese. Architectural features of the main facade include the alternating triangular and segmental pediments that cap the windows of the piano nobile, the central rusticated portal and Michelangelo's projecting cornice which throws a deep shadow on the top of the facade. Michelangelo revised the central window in 1541, adding an architrave to give a central focus to the facade, above which is the largest papal stemma, or coat-of-arms with papal tiara, Rome had ever seen. When Paul appeared on the balcony, the entire facade became a setting for his person. The courtyard, initially open arcades, is ringed by an academic exercise in ascending orders. The piano nobile entablature was given a frieze with garlands, added by Michelangelo. On the garden side of the palace, which faced the River Tiber, Michelangelo proposed the innovatory design of a bridge which, if completed, would have linked the palace with the gardens of the Vigna Farnese, Alessandro's holding on the opposite bank, that later became incorporated into the adjacent villa belonging to the Chigi family, which the Farnese purchased in 1584 and renamed the Villa Farnesina.