The Barberini Palace in Rome is a huge palace built by order of Maffeo Barberini in the first half of the 17th century. Today, the palace is famous for the fact that the National Gallery of Antique Art is located here, it displays collections of porcelain, antique furniture, as well as canvases of great artists: Caravaggio, Raphael, Titian and many others.
History of creation
Maffeo Barberini, even before he became Pope Urban VIII, decided to build a family residence, his family became more and more powerful, and every decent influential family had to have its own palace, and the more beautiful it is, the more honor.
Planning and drafting of the palace began in 1625, at the same time land was purchased on the Quirinal Hill, on the site of the former estate of the Sforza family.
The design of the palace was undertaken by Carlo Moderno, the final project was approved in 1627. But 2 years later, Carlo died and the well-known Giovanni Bernini took over the management of the construction. Construction lasted almost 6 years and was completed by 1633.
Piranesi's engraving on the palazzo
The architecture and decoration of the palace
Palazzo Barberini in Rome is a three-story building with a main building and 2 side wings. Outside, the area is surrounded by a fence depicting bees - the symbol of the Barberini family. Near the current main entrance is the Azzurri fence, which appeared only in the 19th century. Behind the building you can see a garden, which today is only a remnant of its former picturesqueness. However, the garden is still impressive with its beauty.
Palazzo drawing
The exterior beauty of the building is fully consistent with the interior decoration.
The left wing of the palace is decorated with frescoes by Pietro da Cortona, created in the 1630s. The most ambitious work of the artist is "The Triumph of Divine Providence". In this fresco, the iconic symbols are clearly visible: the papal keys, the tiara and the Barberini bees.
Fresco Triumph of Divine Providence
Another fresco "The Triumph of Divine Wisdom" was created by the artist Andrea Sacchi. In this work, Andrea points to the education of Pope Urban VIII. Here, along with the glorification of an eminent family, there is evidence of the Pope's adherence to the heliocentric system of the world (the Pope was closely acquainted with Galileo).
Fresco Triumph of Divine Wisdom
Antique statues are installed in the right wing. The hall where they stand used to be very popular. The fact is that members of the Barberini family collected classic antique statues, thereby distinguishing themselves between other Roman families. Unfortunately, few ancient creations have survived to us. For a long time this hall was used as a theater hall, accommodating up to two hundred spectators.
One of the most unusual sights of the palazzo is the spiral staircase built by the grandson of Carl Moderno, Francesco Borromini. The windows and the facade of the building from the back side belong to his hand.
Spiral staircase
An interesting decision was made for the baroque halls of the palace, the features of which were thought out by Pietro da Cortona. To add sophistication, the master Jacop della Riviera, who specialized in Flemish type fabrics, was brought in from Flanders. The drawings for the material were invented by da Cortona himself, achieving the most extraordinary interior decoration.
National Gallery
Now 1-2 floors of the Barberini Palace in Rome is occupied by one of the buildings of the National Gallery of Ancient Art. Here you can see works by artists from the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. The names of the authors of the presented paintings speak of the richness of the collection: Filippo Lippi, Raphael, Titian, Tintoretto, Poussin, Guido Reni and other equally eminent authors. In total, over 1,500 paintings and other exhibits are exhibited in 34 palace halls.
The National Gallery, located in Palazzo Barberini, is considered one of the youngest in Rome. It arose after the merger of four private art collections, the first of which was collected by members of the Barberini family.
The beginning of the collection of the second collection was laid by Cardinal Nero Corsini. He began to create it in a palace that he acquired in 1737. After 150 years, distant relatives of the cardinal handed the collection over to the state.
Later, it was supplemented by canvases from the collection of the Duke of Torlonia, and later - exhibits from the Gallery del Monte. The collections of the Barberini and Corsini galleries were united, later forming the National Gallery of Ancient Art.
Rich art galleries
Barberini Library
At one time, there was a library on the upper floor of the palace building, on the shelves of which about 60,000 printed publications and 10,000 handwritten copies were kept. Such an extensive collection of books and manuscripts speaks of the high intelligence of its owner. Subsequently, the library was transferred to the possession of the Vatican, and the halls where it was located now houses the museum of the Institute of Numismatics of Italy.
How to get there
Piazza Barberini is located in the eastern part of the city. You can get there via metro line A (Barberini station).
In the direction of Palazzo Barberini buses No. 52, 53, 56, 58, 60, 61, 95, 116, 175, 492, 590 follow.
Palace address
Via delle Quattro Fontane, 13.
The official website of the Gallery of Ancient Art publishes the cost of purchasing tickets for visiting the attraction. It also allows you to pre-order tickets for any number of visitors.
Admission on the first Sunday of every month is free for everyone. The gallery is closed on Mondays, as well as on Catholic Christmas Day and January 1st.
Usually, any small Italian city has its own Pinakothek - an art gallery. Somewhere, like Venice, Florence and Milan, these Pinakothek are packed with masterpieces, and it can take half a day to hike there. Somewhere pinakotheques are modest and even free. But in Rome for a long time there was no such city pinakothek. There were private collections (Doria Pamphili, Spada, Corsini, Barberini) that became museums. But the guidebook honestly warned me: the Roman Pinakothek are strange and unusual. All the walls are covered with paintings, so there is no empty space; no signatures. If you want information, take a cardboard in the corner, on which four walls of the hall are painted, and the doors, windows and pictures are replaced with empty rectangles; what you can recognize is yours. In the Spada and Corsini galleries, this is exactly the case, and therefore, once I have gone there, I no longer feel the desire to return. And from the past years I have vague memories of the Barberini gallery, and I decided to repeat the experience.
It turned out that over the years there has been a radical transformation with the Palazzo Barberini: there are more rooms, more paintings, that is, exhibits from the outside have clearly been added to the former family collection of the Barberini family. And now it is called National Gallery Gallerie nazionali d "arte antica" (Gallerie nazionali d "arte antica). True, the ticket has become significantly more expensive, and it included the gallery Corsini located on the other side of the city - a bleak collection of paintings of the XVII century. But the Palazzo Barberini is worth the money!
View from the square of the same name (the one where the Triton fountain stands in the center) and the metro.
And this is the main facade overlooking the street of Four Fountains
And the gardens behind the palace are also very pleasant. 
There are two staircases in the palace: one (left) was made by Bernini, the second (right) - by Borromini. How these two people who hated each other fiercely managed to work in one place, I do not know. The Bernini stairs lead to the second floor, where the Pinakothek is located. 
You can only look at the stairs of Borromini from below (photos are not mine): 
Well, then went all sorts of different masterpieces. Fortunately, in Palazzo Barberini, all the paintings are hung separately, by different authors in different rooms, so here, unlike the not-for-night Spada and Corsini, walking is a pleasure. 
Painted Crucifix, by Master Bigallo
Author - Bonaventure Berlingeri
Further two paintings by Filippo Lippi; I showed you his frescoes in cathedrals and: 
Madonna Tarquinia. Look, with what ardor the plump Baby clung to the Mother.
Annunciation with donors.
Do you remember more about Umbria? It is also available here: 
Saint Filippo Benizi Saint Filippo Benizi - one of the founders of the Servite order
The Penitent Jerome in the Wilderness. The author wrote the Judean Desert from his native place, not otherwise.
The author, completely unknown to me until now, is Pedro Fernandez da Murcia. 
The painting is called "The Vision of Blessed. Amedeo Menez da Silva". Honestly, I have never heard of such a blessed one, and the vision itself is so-so, but the landscapes below are wonderful.
Piero di Cosimo "The Reading Magdalene" 
Where without Raphael, this is his beloved Fornarina 
I never appreciated Lorenzo Lotto, whom I ran after. 
The mystical marriage of St. Catherine
Chapel painted by Pietro da Cortona 
Bronzino, who wrote so well the Medici family. But in this case it is a portrait of Stefano Colonna 
The main surprise of the gallery is the famous portrait of Henry VIII by Hans Holbein
In the Middle Ages, this land, with vineyards stretching here, belonged to the Sforza family, who in 1549 ordered the construction of a small villa. Later, hereditary lands passed from hand to hand, until in 1625, due to financial difficulties, Cardinal Alessandro Sforza had to sell the land to the Barberini family. The powerful and noble Barberini family, of Tuscan descent, decided to build a prestigious and luxurious residence as their family's representation in Rome, after Cardinal Maffeo Barberini ascended the papal throne in 1623 as Pope Urban VIII. The Pope's nephew, Cardinal Francesco Barberini, responsible for the work, did everything to ensure that the palace was completed on time. The financing of the construction by his uncle, Pope Urban VIII, who shamelessly raised taxes on his subjects in order to find the required funds, for which the people called him "Pope-duty", played an important role in this.
The construction of the Barberini Palace began in 1627 under the direction of the architect Carlo Maderno, who conceived of rebuilding the already existing Villa Sforza into a traditional Renaissance rectangular building, in the likeness of the Farnese Palace. As an assistant, Moderno took the young Francesco Borromini, his grandson. In 1629, after the death of Carlo Maderno, further work was entrusted to the young prodigy Lorenzo Bernini, who at that time was better known as a sculptor. He slightly changed the project, to a less strict one, which combined both the palace and country villa... As a result of the commonwealth of ideas of two great architects, luxurious palace with two protruding side ledges and a delightful park area.
The spiral staircase was designed by Barromini.
The large staircase in the left wing was designed by Bernini.
The interior of the built palace was no less impressive. The left wing of the building is decorated with magnificent frescoes by Pietro da Cortona, who was involved in the work on the palace both as an artist and as an architect. For seven years, between 1633 and 1639. he painted the chapel of the palace and the galleries of the first floor. His best work, The Triumph of Divine Providence, glorifies the work of Pope Urban VIII.
Another hall is decorated with a magnificent fresco by Andrea Sacchi "Triumph of Divine Wisdom", also painted in honor of the pope.
The right wing of the palace was decorated no less luxuriously, it was adorned with numerous antique statues and works of ancient Roman art belonging to the Barberini family.
The upper floor of the palace houses a library with 60 thousand volumes and 10 thousand manuscripts, collected by the collector and highly developed intellectual Francesco Barberini.
A chic park was laid out next to the palace, decorated with curly hedges, flower beds and planted different kinds trees. Deer, ostriches, camels and other exotic animals were bred in the park. Among the many interesting architectural objects of the garden was designed by L. Berninia bridge in the form of a ruin, connecting the Throne Room with the Secret Garden and hidden from the eyes of strangers.
The passage leading from the garden to the palace.
According to the project of Pietro da Cortona, stables were built on the territory of the park, and a theater with the Manezhniy Dvor was erected on the side of the modern street via Bernini.
The palace became ideal place for the new role of the thriving Barberini family. Taddeo, son of Carlo Barberini, at the insistence of his uncle in 1624, married Anna Colonna, who belonged to one of the most ancient Roman families, and who added a substantial dowry to the family, including the principality of Palestrina in 1629. After that, Taddeo was declared the direct heir to numerous properties. Apparent well-being, it seems, does not seem to end in sight, however ... As the elected prefect of Rome at the secret council of cardinals held in 1644, Taddeo and his brothers made a profitable deal to ensure the further well-being of his family. But in 1645, after the death of Urban VIII Barberini, Pope Innocent X Pamphilius, who came to power, refused to recognize the deal. In the course of the ongoing investigation into financial abuse, the palace was confiscated to the papal treasury. Taddeo Barberini and his brothers were forced to flee to Paris in 1646, where they were received by Cardinal Giulio Mazarin. Taddeo's wife, Anna Colonna, appealed to Pope Innocent X, urging him to allow the family property to be retained. The Pope agreed, but Taddeo Barberini remained in exile until the end of his days and died in 1647 without seeing Rome again. The property was returned to the Bernini family in 1653. In fact, the Barberini family suffered from their growing power and ambitions, which collapsed after the death of Pope Urban VII.
The final reconciliation with Pope Innocent X came after Taddeo Barberini's son Matteo married the Pope's great-niece, Olympia Giustiniani. Taddeo's second son, Carlo, was elevated to the rank of cardinals by the same pope.
In the photo: the facade of the palace with the papal coat of arms and heraldry of the Barberini family - three bees.
Bees can be seen throughout the palace..
After the death of Pope Innocent X in early 1655, the Barberini re-entered the political scene. One of the significant events of those years for the palace and its owners was the grandiose costume carnival, organized on the occasion of the arrival of Queen Christina of Sweden in Rome. To view this colorful performance, a special tribune was erected on the back of the palace, worth seven thousand escudos. At the same time, several neighboring buildings had to be demolished to make room for construction. The tribune was intended for representatives of the papal court and the nobility. The spectacle was a series of scenes from mythological allegories, in which the characters were dressed in bright and colorful costumes, accompanied by horses and intricate chariots.
And from 1627 to 1683, at the initiative of Cardinal Francesco Barberini, a tapestry workshop worked in the palace under the guidance of the Flanders artist Jacopo della Riviera.
The palace continued to flourish in the 18th century and was facilitated by the marriage of Cornelia Constanta Barberini with Giulio Cesare Colonna in 1728, who strengthened the family's status and power. During this period, some of the rooms acquired a new luxurious interior.
In the future, fate was not always favorable to the palace. More than once the family had to sell family values to maintain a too luxurious residence.
The only significant innovation in palace ensemble the fence and gates were installed in 1865 along the street of Four Fountains. Spectacular sculptures of Atlanteans and lantern consoles in the form of dragons were created by the sculptor A. Tadolini according to the project of the architect Azzurri, presented back in 1848.
Mention should also be made of the landscaping of the garden, during which a greenhouse and a fish tank were created according to the design of Giovanni Mazzoni, who had been Barberini's gardener since 1867.
During the same period, Francesco Azzurri designed a fountain decorated with sculptures of masks and bees, and this was the last thing the Barberini family could afford.
In 1900, the library of Cardinal Francesco, together with the furniture created according to drawings by Bernini, were sold to the Vatican, and the floor where the library was located was occupied by the Italian Institute of Numismatics. The part of the park that stretched towards Via XX September was divided into sections and sold. Once there was a playground in bracchala. Subsequently, ministerial buildings were raised on this section of the park, and the suburban flavor of this once aristocratic quarter with its wonderful villas disappeared forever. And during the construction of the Barberini street, the stable and the theater of the palace were demolished.
The difficult financial situation of the heirs of the family led to the fact that in the 1930s part of the old wing of the palace was sold to the shipping company Finmare, part of the rooms under a long-term lease agreement is rented out to the officers' club of the Italian armed forces.
Finally, the financial crisis forced them to abandon the palace of the Barberini heirs. In 1949, the state bought the entire complex for 600 million lire. Three years later, Maria Barberini, who continued to occupy part of the palace rooms until her death, sells all her paintings and other works of art, some of which are bought by American nouveau riches.
Part of the right wing continued to be subordinate to the officers' club; in the left wing of the palace, the state placed the National Gallery of Ancient Art, which preserved its magnificent interiors. The unsurpassed masterpieces of this collection are now canvases by Filippo Lippi, Perugino, Bronzino, Tintoretto, Guido Reni, Guercino. Among the masterpiece are paintings such as Raphael's Fornarina and Caravaggio's Judith and Holofernes.
The good news on my last visit to the palace was the following fact: in 2011, the restoration of Palazzo Barberini was completed, the work on the restoration of the building took about five years and cost about 15 million euros. One of the important results of the restoration was the move from the building of the officers' club, which occupied several rooms in the palazzo. After the restoration, the second floor was opened in the palazzo, and the gallery was replenished with ten new rooms. Thus, the total number of rooms in the gallery has reached 34. There are more than one and a half thousand works of art in them.
Another very recent good news was the opening for public access from November 2014, albeit by appointment, of the exquisite rooms of Princess Cornelia Constanza Barberini (1716-1796). These rooms remained inhabited by the heirs of the Barberini family until 1955, and miraculously retained their interior.
And, finally, a few more photos of the palace interior.
A couple more of the palace fountains.
Text - SPRATO
Outside Four fountains- via delle Quattro Fontane, not far from pl. Barberini, behind the gates and fence of the 19th century is the palace of the once rich and powerful Barberini family, whose ancestral coat of arms - three bees - on the fence of the Barberini Palace, on the boat of Bernini the father on the Spanish Square, at the Fontana delle Api more famous Bernini's son - Lorenzo Bernini.
01.
Castle Barberini - Palazzo Barberini was built by order of the pontiff Urban VIII, Maffeo Barberini (here it should be recalled that until 1870 Rome was ruled by the popes). In the creation of the palace in 1625-1633. attended by three great architects - Carlo Maderno, Francesco Borromini and Bernini.
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Palm trees grow in front of the palace, the bright greenery of which was pleasing to the eye in mid-October.
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A 19th century fountain in front of the palace facade.
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The Barberini family has accumulated over the centuries a rich collection of books, furniture, paintings and sculptures. However, a lot was sold out - there was not enough money for the maintenance of the palace. So, in 1900, Bernini's library and antique furniture were sold to the Vatican, and half a century later, in 1949, the Barberini Palace with all the furnishings and works of art was sold to the state, and in the left wing of the palace in 1953 it was arranged art Gallery- Galleria Nazionale d "Arte Antica.
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The gallery contains a valuable collection of ancient icons. Fresco Camillo Spallucci (1582-1605).
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In addition to old icons, in the gallery of paintings famous artists: Titiana, Tintoretto, Lorenzo Lotto, Caravaggio, Andrea del Sarto, El Greco, etc. There are 1445 paintings in the gallery.
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One of the famous paintings by Caravaggio - a rather large canvas - "Judith and Holofernes" made a terrible impression on me, and I did not photograph it, but photographed this cute view of Venice by the 18th century artist Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal) (Venezia 1697 - 1768 ).
09.
An unusual hall - marble columns and a fountain. On the wall of the hall hangs a detailed description of it, which I photographed, but my hand trembled and ... the frame did not come out. In the Internet, information about the hall was not found.
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At the top of the fountain is the Barberini family coat of arms with three bees.
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To see other halls of the gallery, one had to leave the building and climb the famous Bernini stairs. Unlike the Borromini staircase, it is quadrangular.
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How high one had to climb to get into other halls, I did not know. The staircase seemed endless and I somehow forgot to photograph it during the difficult climb along it ... As it turned out later, there is an elevator in the gallery, but I still went down the stairs in order to once again walk along the ancient steps and feel the atmosphere of a bygone past, imagining, how the guests and owners of the palace climbed and descended the wide steps of the Bernini staircase every day.
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Ceiling frescoes in the halls.
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In the gallery it was possible to take an audio guide in Italian, English or French. But this time I decided to do without an audio guide, but to rely on my taste, and he did not deceive me: I did not miss a single masterpiece in the museum, such as this statue of the Vestal of the Italian sculptor Antonio Corradini (Venezia, 1688 - Napoli, 1752) ...
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There is something a little frightening about this marbled, veiled face.
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In the huge hall, the pearl of the palace is the dazzling ceiling fresco by Pietro da Cortona "Allegory of Divine Providence" (1633-1639).
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I took at least 20 frames through the zoom, but most of The frames did not work out - it is not easy to shoot without a tripod with a camera with a retractable zoom.
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This close-up shot of the Barberini bees came out surprisingly well.
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An elderly couple stood in front of this picture in a small room for a long time, and when she left, I was left alone with the painting of the genius Raphael - "La Fornarina" ("The Baker"). This painting is almost 500 years old! It is believed to have been written by Raphael in the year of his death in 1520. This is a masterpiece of masterpieces! The picture is captivating! Words cannot convey what a great impression it makes: you look and you can't take your eyes off.
25.
Five centuries have passed since the death of the brilliant Raffaello, legends and myths about his death and the one he loved, who was his model, are multiplying. Nothing is known for sure about the fate of his beloved after the death of Raphael, which, however, does not prevent the creation of contradictory stories about her: some in pink, others in black. As always, when there are no facts, fantasy replaces them.
26.
Going down the stairs, Bernini had to go upstairs again to take a bag from the storage room. Then go down to the yard again. The famous Borromini snail staircase was visible to the side of the entrance, but the entrance to it was closed. Found the entrance to the palace garden. When the palace was built, a vast garden was laid out around it for the first time in the history of the papal capital. Then the garden was destroyed. Seeing the stairs that lead to the garden, I said, "Oh no!" During the four days of the trip, I began to get tired of the Roman stairs, in addition, in front of me was a steep ascent along the street of the Four Fountains and a descent from the hill to one of the most beautiful cathedrals in Rome. After taking a couple of shots, I left the territory of the palace with the hope that I will visit Rome again and then I will definitely go to this garden ...
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There is very little information in Russian. Details on the museum's website, where you can see photos of paintings by the most significant artists: http://galleriabarberini.beniculturali.it/index.php?it/23/capolavori
All photos, except two, dated October 15, 2015. The first shot was taken on a trip to Rome in September 2012. General form the palace (photo 2) was shot from the window of a hotel room in September 2004.
At the intersection of streets Via delle Qiattro Fontane and Via Barberini... In ancient times, ancient temples were located here, in particular the Temple of Flora.
The surname Barberini belongs to a wealthy and influential princely family who lived in the small Italian town of Barberino (the real name of the family is Tafani). His coat of arms - three bees - was known throughout Europe. In the 11th century, the Barberini family settled in Florence.
In 1564, Rafael Barberini visited Moscow with a letter of introduction to Ivan the Terrible from Queen Elizabeth of England, after which he gave detailed description everything that I saw in Moscow on the pages of his manuscript "Report on Muscovy by Raphael Barberini to Count Nogarola, Antwerp, October 16, 1565", which is still kept in the Barberini library.
The most significant contribution to the glorification of the clan was madeMaffeo Barberini, p apa Roman Urban VIII, who found Xia on the throne from 1623 to 1644.His nephews Francesco and Antonio became cardinals, and brother Taddeo was appointed general of the papal army and the post of prefect of Rome. However, in 1645(after the death of Urban VIII) for the family came t times are hard. New p apa, Innocent X, having irrefutable evidence, accused representatives of the Barberini clan of fraud with in cash received from tax collection. Barberini has been hiding for a while were in France, and only Cardinal Mazarin's intercession helped im go back to Rome and get back their confiscated property. In the middle 18 century the male line of the Barberini clan was cut short.
In 1625, Maffeo Barberini, already Pope Urban VIII, acquired a plot of land on the Quirinal hill on the site of the former mansion and vineyards of the Sforza family. It was Sforza that erected the first small palace here in 1549. However, financial difficulties forced Cardinal Alessandro Sforza to sell the land, and Urban VIII planned to build his residence on this site. The best architects of their time - Bernini, Maderno and Barromini took part in the creation of the palace.
Carlo Maderna, inspired by the model of the Farnese Palace, originally designed a traditional rectangular building in the spirit of the Renaissance. However, in the final version, agreed with the pontiff, a project of a complex structure of three floors with wings on both sides repeating the outlines of the Quirinal hill was adopted.
In 1629, after the death of Carlo Moderna, Giovanni Bernini headed the construction of the palace. He designed front staircase and fountains (at present, on this side, there is a magnificent front gate and a 19th century fence with eight pillars decorated with images of Atlanteans, by the architect Francesco Azzurri). Carlo's grandson, young Francesco Borromini, created the famous masterpiece - a spiral staircase with double columns on the sides, as well as designed the rear facade of the building and its windows. The whole construction took 5 years (1627-1633).
Palazzo Barberini. Piranesi. Engraving, 1748 A garden was laid out near the palace, which was not usual in the days of papal Rome. The remains of this garden are still impressive today, fragrant and bearing fruit. There was a theater next to the palace (it was demolished during the construction of Barberini Street). The palace itself is surrounded by a wrought-iron fence around the perimeter, which depicts the symbol of the Barberini family - a bee.
Maffeo Barberini was brought up in the spirit of the humanistic ideas that prevailed in the art of that time. This was manifested in his patronage activities, which he especially generously continued during his time on the papal throne. At this time, the Barberini residence became a salon in which talented poets, scientists, painters and sculptors gathered.
For several years, a workshop worked here, where they made tapestries for the halls of the palace. The sketches for the fabrics were personally developed by Pietro da Cortona, and the Flemish craftsmen were supervised by the artist Jacop della Riviera. The top floor of the building housed the extensive library of Francesco Barberini, containing some 60,000 printed volumes and 10,000 manuscripts. Now in these halls there is a museum of the Institute of Numismatics of Italy.
After the death of Urban VIII, the palace, along with the rest of the property of the Barberini family, was confiscated by the papal treasury and returned only in 1653.
In difficult times, in order to maintain the palace with dignity, many of its treasures were sold. In 1900, the library of Cardinal Francesco and the antique furniture of Bernini were bought by the Vatican. The park territory was divided into plots and sold for the development of ministerial buildings. Beginning in 1949, the Barberini Palace and all furnishings and works of art belonging to it were finally sold to the state. As a result, a part of the National Gallery of Ancient Art was placed in the left wing of the building. It consists of 34 rooms on two floors and has a huge number of real masterpieces. Here you can see the works of artists of the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries: Filippo Lippi, Raphael, Titian, Tintoretto, Poussin, Guido Reni, Rubens, etc., more than 1500 paintings and other exhibits in total. The gallery prides itself on Raphael's Fornarina and Caravaggio's Judith and Holofernes. The 18th century princely apartment, which can be reached via the spiral staircase of Borromini, is also open to the public. The right wing was given the armed forces, who placed the Officers' Meeting here.
The left wing of the palace is decorated with frescoes by Pietro da Cortona, created by him in the 1630s. The most ambitious work of the artist is "The Triumph of Divine Providence." On this fresco, iconic symbols are visible: the papal keys, the tiara and the Barberini bees. Another fresco - "The Triumph of Divine Wisdom" - was created by the artist Andrea Sacchi. This work shows the education of Pope Urban VIII. The fresco testifies to the Pope's commitment to the heliocentric system of the world.
Antique statues are installed in the right wing. H Lena of the Barberini family collected antique classic, standing out among other roman x genders ... Unfortunately, we have reached only few creations. For a long time this hall was used as a theater, accommodating into myself up to two hundred spectators.
And in the basementspalace archaeologists have discovered the ruins ancient temple Mithras.
Palace address - Via delle Quattro Fontane, 13.
You can get to Piazza Barberini by metro - line A, Barberini station.
Visitor reception time -from 8.30 to 19.00, closed on Monday.
Onat the entrance to the building there is a shop with printed products dedicated to history of the palace, postcard s, catalog s and souvenirs.
While visiting the National Gallery, it is prohibited to take photographs and videos. The whole hand luggage must be left in the dressing room.
Examples of works from the National Gallery of Ancient Art:
