Palazzo Barberini

Palazzo Barberini is a 17th-century Baroque palace in Rome built for the Barberini family and now home to the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica. The palace is notable for its grand Baroque architecture and interior decoration.

The site is visited for the palace architecture and its national gallery collection, which presents significant works of Italian art from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. The central salon contains a major fresco by Pietro da Cortona that dominates the interior scheme.

Construction began in the early 1600s under architects including Carlo Maderno, with contributions by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Francesco Borromini, commissioned by the Barberini papal family. Over time the building transitioned from a private palace to a public museum housing the national collection.

Palazzo Barberini sits near Piazza Barberini in central Rome and is part of the city’s dense historical core of palaces, churches and state galleries.

• Architects: Construction began in the early 17th century for the Barberini family and involved architects including Carlo Maderno, Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Francesco Borromini.
• Collection highlight: The palace houses the national gallery of older Italian paintings and features a major Baroque ceiling fresco by Pietro da Cortona in the main salon.

What to See #

• Grand Salone: The palace's main central salon features a large Baroque ceiling fresco by Pietro da Cortona and functions as the architectural focal point of the interior.
• Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica: The Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica occupies the palace and displays paintings and decorative arts from the 13th to 18th centuries.
• Courtyards and façades: Formal courtyards and external façades combine 17th-century Baroque architecture with later museum adaptations.