Palazzo Barberini

Unlike the Corsini picture gallery, little remains of the original Barberini family collection. In the eighteenth century, in fact, the first dispersions began, partly because of disagreements between the various hereditary branches of the family, but above all in 1934 a Royal Decree was issued allowing the princes to sell, even abroad, most of their works. The state, in return, acquired a small nucleus of paintings, still identifiable by the initials "F" followed by progressive numbers (La Fornarina, for example, is initialed F1).

So while the Palazzo Corsini venue collects a historical picture gallery in its own right, the Palazzo Barberini presents a chronological and representative display of the main schools of painting from the thirteenth to the eighteenth centuries, organized so that new acquisitions can be integrated or different arrangements of the collection can be envisaged.

The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries are the most represented ones including works by Raphael, Piero di Cosimo, Bronzino, Hans Holbein, Lorenzo Lotto, Tintoretto, all the way to Caravaggio with the array of Caravaggeschi, and the rich seventeenth century with works by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Guido Reni, Guercino, Nicolas Poussin, and Pietro da Cortona.

The 18th-century collection preserves important works by Maratti, Batoni, Canaletto, Subleyras, Mengs, and van Wittel; as well as paintings from the Duke of Cervinara's donation, with fine canvases by Fragonard and Boucher, and those from the Lemme donation, with rare sketches by Corvi and Ghezzi.

Maffeo Barberini (Florence 1568 - Rome 1644) was elected pope in 1623 under the name Urban VIII and two years later purchased for his grandchildren, who were invested with offices and honors, a villa on the Quirinal Hill formerly belonging to the Sforza family, and commissioned to Carlo Maderno (1556-1629), the new family palace. Instead of demolishing the villa, the architect incorporated it into a new architectural design: the Sforza wing, that is, the part of the building that faces the present Piazza Barberini, was connected to another wing, parallel to it, by a central arm. The new plan of the building has an absolutely innovative "H" shape. Maderno creates an open-wing structure that frames a vast garden, with rare plants, secret courtyards, and Italianate gardens.

Starting around 1620 numerous craftsmen worked on the interior decorations continuously until the mid-18th century, when the last direct heir, Cornelia Costanza, commissioned a Rococo-style apartment on the top floor. Descendants of the Barberini family lived in the palace's 18th-century apartment until 1955.

ITINERARY TOUR IN SHORT
Today it is possible to access the palace from Via delle Quattro Fontane through the porticoed façade, over which rises a faux glazed loggia, most likely designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680), who succeeded Carlo Maderno in directing the building site in 1629.

DON'T MISS
The beating heart of the palace is the majestic reception hall frescoed by Pietro da Cortona. This monumental room can be accessed by a square well staircase, designed by Bernini, on one side, and by the extraordinary oval spiral staircase, probably designed by Francesco Borromini (1599-1667).