Galleria Spada

Galleria Spada is an art gallery housed in the 17th‑century Palazzo Spada in central Rome, noted for its small collection of Renaissance and Baroque paintings and sculptures and for a famous architectural trompe-l’oeil. The palace and gallery are compact and visited by people interested in period art and Baroque architecture.

The gallery’s highlight for many visitors is the forced‑perspective colonnade by Francesco Borromini, a short covered gallery that, when viewed from a single marked point, creates the illusion of a long colonnade receding into the distance. The picture rooms display works by Italian and European artists of the 16th and 17th centuries in a historic palazzo setting.

The palazzo was remodeled and decorated in the 17th century by the Spada family and parts of the building retain original Baroque fittings and staircases. The gallery is arranged for guided and self-guided visits and is part of Rome’s dense network of small specialist museums.

The Galleria Spada stands in central Rome and is easily reached from the historic centre; it occupies a palace courtyard and street frontage typical of Roman palazzi.

• Borromini perspective: The forced-perspective colonnade is best seen from the marked viewpoint at the gallery's entrance; from that spot the colonnade appears dramatically elongated.

What to See #

• Forced-perspective colonnade: A short, forced-perspective colonnade designed by Francesco Borromini in the 17th century that creates the optical illusion of a much longer gallery from a single viewpoint.
• Main picture gallery: A compact picture gallery housed in the Palazzo Spada presenting paintings and sculptures mainly from the 16th and 17th centuries.