Palazzo Barberini secret doors and mirrors. National gallery of ancient art in rome. History and architecture

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 by 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, a radical transformation has taken place 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 the National Gallery of Ancient Art (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 from the 17th 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 very nice too.

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've 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 is it 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 the Medici family so coolly. 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 its 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 representative 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 without a twinge of conscience 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. Moderno took the young Francesco Borromini, his grandson, as his assistant. 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 "The 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 prying eyes.

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 on the side of the modern street via Bernini, a theater with the Manezhniy Dvor was erected.

The palace became ideal place for a new role for the prosperous 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. The seeming 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 due to their growing power and ambitious plans, 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-emerged on the political stage. 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 at a cost of 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 off family values ​​to maintain a too luxurious residence.

The only significant innovation in palace ensemble a fence and a gate installed in 1865 along the street of Four Fountains became. 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 fish pond 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 that 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 the American nouveau riche.

Part of the right wing continued to be subordinate to the officers' club; in the left wing of the palace, the state located the National Gallery of Ancient Art, which preserved its magnificent interiors. The unsurpassed masterpieces of this collection today are 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 restoration work 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 in November 2014, albeit by appointment, of the exquisite rooms of Princess Cornelia Constanta 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

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"Encounter the original, share the passion."

Benefactor and patron Prof. Dr. h. c. mult.
Hasso Plattner on the Museum Barberini's mission

Take a Walk with the Barberini App

Explore Potsdam!

The exhibition Baroque pathways Italy in Potsdam

The exhibition Baroque pathways at the Museum Barberini invites you to explore Italian influences in Potsdam's cityscape. Stroll through the city with the audio tour Italy in Potsdam and discover 30 Italianate buildings and artworks, from the Nikolaikirche (St. Nicholas Church) -modeled on St. Peter's in Rome-and the Brandenburg Gate, which was inspired by the Arch of Constantine, to the Orangery Palace in Sanssouci, whose architecture unmistakably mirrors the Villa Medici in Rome. The city tour, available in German, English and Italian, will accompany you through the city and reveal surprising visual comparisons between Potsdam and Italy.

Barberini Digital encompasses all the museum's digital projects: From the Barberini Guide to the virtual education in the museum. Use the Barberini App to learn more about ongoing exhibitions at the Museum Barberini in Potsdam: You can explore the museum in 360 ° panoramas before you even enter the doors. You can see all the tours for kids and adults at a glance. Select your audio guide and use the app to help you navigate your way through the museum. The app also contains all the information you need to plan your visit, as well as video interviews with curators and other experts.

Palazzo Barberini

The National Gallery of Rome, located in Palazzo Barberini, is probably the youngest art collection in Rome. Collected here a large number of first-class works of Italian masters of the XVI-XIX centuries. The Roman Gallery is housed in two buildings, one of which is the Palazzo Barberini.

Palazzo Barberini was conceived as a royal residence, since it was assumed that after 1625 the family of Pope Urban VIII (Barberini) would be located there. The building was erected on the territory of the former vineyard of the Sforza family - there was once a small palace (palazzetto), which in turn was built on the site of ancient buildings, in particular the Temple of Flora. The new palace, erected with true baroque splendor, was to glorify the Barberini family, and, it must be admitted, this plan was carried out with brilliance.

Initially, the work was supervised by Carlo Maderno, who was replaced by Francesco Borromini, but he too had to give up this place to Gianlorenzo Bernini, who completed the construction in 1634 with the participation of Pietro da Cortona.

The immense building included a main building and two side wings that echoed the outlines of the Quirinal Hill; behind the palazzo is a vast park. Cardinal Francesco Barberini did everything to ensure that the palace was completed on time. The financing of the construction by his uncle, Pope Urban VIII, who without a twinge of conscience 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.

Construction proceeded rapidly. First, the architectural ideas of Borromini took shape, according to whose design the windows, spiral staircase and rear façade were created. Then, according to Bernini's design, a large staircase was erected in the left wing, enclosed in a square well. Bernini designed the main façade overlooking Via delle Quattro Fontane. Now on this side is the main entrance and a 19th century iron fence (architect Francesco Azzurri) with eight pillars decorated with images of Atlanteans.

On the current via San Nicola da Tolentino, stables were erected opposite the portal designed by Pietro da Cortona, and a theater with the Manezhniy Dvor was erected on the side of the modern via Bernini: from here began a passage arranged under the palazzo, leading to the garden behind it.

All these buildings, located on the left side of the modern Piazza Barberini, nowadays do not exist: they were demolished when the Via Barberini was laid.

This residence of the Barberini family, famous for their patronage, became a place of attraction for the best cultural forces of the 17th century. Among those who attended the salon were the poets Gabrieello Chiabrera, Giovanni Ciampoli, the author of religious poems, and Francesco Bracciolini, famous for his poem "Wrath of the Gods." Among the regulars of the palace were scientists, historiographers and, of course, Lorenzo Bernini, who, in addition to all other talents, showed himself as a theater artist. The performances at the Barberini Theater began on 23 February 1634 with the melodrama "Saint Alexis" to music by Giulio Rospigliosi. Musical comedies were staged in the palace, dancing parties during the carnival and wedding celebrations, as happened in 1656, when Maffeo Barberini married Olympia Giustiniani.

Although patronage was a matter of pride for Barberini, they mainly used artists to exalt themselves. This was especially vividly embodied in the design of the palace, in particular its left wing, the halls of which were painted (1633-1639) with magnificent frescoes by Pietro da Cortona.

Among them are the giant plafond of the central salon on the second floor - "Triumph of Divine Providence", the Baroque apotheosis of the Barberini family, as indicated by the papal tiara and keys of Urban VIII depicted on the fresco, as well as the heraldic bees of Barberini. Another hall is adorned with a splendid plafond by Andrea Sacchi "The Triumph of Divine Wisdom": this fresco not only glorifies Barberini, but is also intended to witness the triumph of the heliocentric theory, about which Urban VIII had frequent conversations with Galileo Galilei.

The right wing of the palace is not less luxuriously decorated, as evidenced by the Hall of Marbles, or the Hall of Statues, which displayed magnificent examples of classical sculpture that the Barberini collected. This hall was especially famous, demonstrating the indisputable superiority of Barberini over the rest of the Roman patrician. Little has survived from the collection, for example, "Velata" by Antonio Corradini. The hall was used for banquets, as well as, until the theater was built, and for theatrical performances: it could seat up to 200 spectators.

From 1627 to 1683, a tapestry workshop worked in the palace. From its walls emerged the so-called Flemish fabrics that adorned the baroque rooms: they were made under the guidance of the artist Jacopo della Riviera, whom Francesco Barberini ordered from Flanders, according to drawings and cardboards by Pietro da Cortona, which made it possible to achieve artistic perfection.

The last floor of the palace houses the library of Cardinal Francesco, numbering 60 thousand volumes and 10 thousand manuscripts. This library, one of the outstanding cultural monuments of the 17th century, also speaks of the intellectual needs of its owner. True, in the same palace lived another papal nephew, Cardinal Antonio, with a restless and ambitious disposition. He was not inferior to another papal nephew, Taddeo, brother of Francesco and Antonio, who had the rank of general of the papal army. He received the title of Prince of Palestrina and was appointed prefect of Rome. Taddeo dishonored himself by embezzling some of the taxes collected from the Romans. By the way, it was Taddeo who was chosen to continue the dynasty, the heir to the clan property. However, in 1645, the brothers had to endure many anxious moments when, after the death of Urban VIII, Pope Innocent X appointed a commission to investigate the activities of Barberini, during which all their abuses were exposed. For several years, the brothers went into hiding in France, while their Roman palace was confiscated. Soon the storm died down and, relying on the intercession of Cardinal Mazarin, they returned to Rome and received back their fortune, including the palazzo.

The Barberini dynasty kept its blood pure until 1728, when the last in the family, Cornelia Costanza, married Giulio Cesare Colonna Sharra, which marked the beginning of the Barberini Colonna branch. In 1893, with the marriage of the last representative of this branch, Maria, to Luigi Sacchetti, a new branch arose - Sacchetti-Barberini-Colonna.

The history of the palace reflects all the vicissitudes of the fate of the family that owned it, which more than once resorted to selling their artistic treasures in order to find funds to maintain a luxurious residence. Mention should 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 set up a fountain in the garden, located opposite the palace on the side of Via delle Cuattro Fontane. The fountain, erected over an octagonal pool and decorated with four mascarons and three bees, is undoubtedly the last luxury that Barberini allowed themselves. In 1900, the library of Cardinal Francesco, as well as the furniture created 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 stretches towards Via Venti Settembre was divided into plots and sold. Once there was a playground in bracchala; subsequently, ministerial buildings rose in its place, and the suburban flavor of this once aristocratic quarter with its wonderful villas disappeared forever.

The crisis that befell them forced the Barberini heirs to abandon the palace. In 1935, the Finmare shipping company purchased the old wing of the palace, which was then completely rebuilt. In 1949, the state bought the entire complex, and three years later the Barberini sold all the paintings and various works of art that belonged to them. In the left wing is located National Gallery antique art that preserves its magnificent interiors; the right one was transferred to the armed forces, which placed the Officers' Meeting here, which can hardly be considered a successful decision. The guarantee of the preservation of the architectural and artistic treasures of the palace can only be its complete transformation into museum complex... Only then will the palace be able to regain its former splendor.

The era of early Baroque (sometimes art critics distinguish this period in a separate term - Mannerism) gave the architecture of the capital of the Italian Republic a majestic and massive building of the palace of the Barberini family (Palazzo Barberini). Located on the street Four fountains in the east of Rome, the Barberini Palace is a building with a massive central part (main building) and two wings. The architectural value is not only the palazzo and the original fence around the palace, but also the vast park behind the building.

The Barberini Palace in Rome was built in 1634 by several architects, successively replacing each other during 10 years of construction. By 17th century standards, the building and park were built quickly, aided by the close relationship of the Barberini clan (led by the cardinal) and the Vatican's Catholic Papal Church. We can say that architectural monument(like many buildings of that period) was erected at the expense of the people, since the construction was financed from raised taxes and taxes.

According to scientists and archaeologists, the building of the palace was built on the ruins. ancient temple Mithras, whose remains are still found in the basements of the site.

Two reasons to visit Barberini Palace

First of all, the palazzo is a significant architectural monument in Rome. Vaults, arches, stucco, semicircular and spiral staircases and sculptures in niches, a fountain at the entrance to the building - all these elements attract not only connoisseurs of architecture, but also ordinary tourists.

Art lovers should definitely visit the left wing of the building, where 17th century frescoes by the painter Pietro da Cortona are placed in the halls on the walls and ceiling. On the second floor, tourists admire the main masterpiece of the Italian - the ceiling fresco "Triumph of Divine Providence".

Another art form, Flemish tapestries, adorns the baroque halls of the right wing and the central building. On the top floor, the family's personal library is open for review, numbering more than 70 thousand handwritten and printed editions of the 17-18 century.

For a long time, the theater hosted performances by its own troupe of the Barberini family. Now this spacious room with high vaulted arches, decorated with stucco and frescoes, houses an exhibition of sculptures from antiquity, collected by various members of the clan.

The second reason appeared relatively recently - in 1893, it was placed within the walls of the palace. Galleria Nazionale d "Arte Antica- National Gallery of Ancient Art. It is located in the eastern part of the palace, the exposition was created from the paintings of Italian masters of the 16-19 centuries, collections of majolica and porcelain, furniture are exhibited for review. In the halls of the gallery, works of famous artists are exhibited: Caravaggio, El Greco, Raphael, Titian. Other rooms regularly host temporary exhibitions on history, painting and social issues.

How to get there and when can you visit the palace?

The palace and gallery are located at 13 Via delle Quattro Fontane. Tickets can be purchased at the museum ticket office or at https://www.ticketeria.it. The cost of a general ticket is 7 euros for an adult, for 9 euros you can visit the second part of the museum, located next to