Archeological collections witnessing the taste and love of antiquities of Rome’s aristocratic families. The museum is housed in an aristocratic renaissance palace

 
Created within one of the most beautiful Renaissance villas, it hosts the collection of Etruscan works of art witnessing the complexity and skills of the Etruscan civilization flourishing in V century BC in the area north of Rome. 

The most didactic museum about ancient Rome with reproductions and casts illustrating the history of Rome from the beginning of the Roman times until the 6th century. Here are the casts of all relifs of Trajan column.
Noteworthy is the plastic of ancient Rome, which gives an idea of what Rome looked like

The Museum is housed inside the Porta S. Sebastian of the Aurelian walls and offers visitors an educational itinerary focused on this important defensive system created in the 3rd century by Emperor Aurelian, and constantly restored throughout the rest of Rome’s history.
The view from the gate’s towers is wonderful and it is possible to walk along the walkways of the soldiers too.

The collection gets its name from the Barone Giovanni Barracco, a passionate of antiquities, who bequeathed it to the city of Rome in 1902.

Contains Egyptian, Assyrian, Greek, Etruscan and Roman sculpture, some dating from 1500 BC. Beneath the museum are remains of a Roman building and frescoes; however this area is currently closed due to repairs.

The museum is located in a wonderful palace located between Navona Square and piazza campo dei fiori. It is worth a visit to rest from the crowds while experiencing the spaces of this renaissance aristocratic palace deigned by Antonio da Sangallo il Giovane.

The villa was committed by Cardinal Scipione Borghese. He was the nephew of Pope Paul V.
When a family had a pope suddenly it required splendid palaces and outdoor villas.

The Borghese villa was the most incredible of the days surrounded by a huge park.

In the villa he held his private collection of works of fine art and antiquities. Its world-famous pieces include sculptures by Bernini and Canova;  paintings by Raphael, Caravaggio, Titian, Antonello da Messina, Botticelli, Correggio, Rubens and others.

Once Emperor Hadrian’s mausoleum, the structure was constantly used during the middle ages as a fortress and prison to become, in the renaissance period, the residence and fortress of the popes.

It is a place where the different epochs of Rome’s history are visible.

The ring corridor that leads to the papal apartment and the funerary chambers dates back to the imperial ages.

The pope’s apartments were decorated by the greatest artists of the renaissance with exquisite frescoes.
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The building became a museum in 1925 and contains a historical military museum, paintings, ceramics, sculptures and tapestries

Paintings by italian and foreign artists from the XV to the XVIII century, decorate the halls and rooms of the most luxurious roman aristocratic palace.

The Colonna family, who retrace its origins to the XI century is one of the oldest and most influential in town. Their palace perfectly reflects their past glories. The great hall is one of the most sumptuous of Europe

The villa of Agostino Chigi, one of the leading personality of the renaissance age and the banker of the popes .
Designed and frescoed by the greatest artists of the period: Raphael and his pupils, Peruzzi, Sebastiano del Piombo and Sodoma. Not to be missed !

The recently restored palace of the Barberini papal family house a  rich and fascinating art collection. On display are paintings of artists of the Italian school from the 14th to the 18th century, Caravaggio and Raphael amidst the others. Particularly worth of notice are also the staircases projected by Bernini and Borromini and the main hall frescoed by Pietro da Cortona.

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Palazzo Spada visit gives the opportunity of experiencing the lifestyle and taste of 17 century aristocrats. The palace was built by the greatest architects and the Spada cardinal collected  important paintings to embellish it. Works of art by Titian, Guido Reni, Guercino and other 17 century artists. The famous trompe d’oeil by Borromini is a main attraction of the art gallery. Beautiful.

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A collection of works of art and paintings aimed to illustrate Rome’s history and culture between  the 17th and 19th centuries. it is located in one of the palaces overlooking Navona square. The interiors are beautiful and the view of the square charming. For history buffs.

The Torlonia was the most important family of the 19 century, therefore they purchased the large park and committed the luxurious villa with dependences, stables fountains etc. it is a very enjoyable visit.

The museum is organized in three villas: the 18th century Casino Nobile hosts the Museum of the Villa  and a collection of works from the roman school. The Museum of the Casina delle Civette focuses on stained glasses. The Casino dei Principi is the home of the Archives of the Roman School and hosts temporary exhibitions.

Admission tickets includes the Museum and guided tour in the Tempio Maggiore and Tempio Spagnolo.
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Works of art illustrating the traditions, religion and history of Rome’s Jewish community, one of the oldest in the world.

Manuscripts and memories of the journeys to Italy of the romantic poets and of their roman stay together with the memories of the last period in the life of John Keats.

it is housed in the house where John Keats lived the last months of his life. Very touching are the masks of his face, the one when he arrived, and the funerary mask after he died of tuberculosis few months later. He was only 25 years old.

A museum particularly dedicated to early middle age times and the transformations occurred in Rome after the fall of the roman empire. The underground remain of Balbo theater are very interesting too.

Established in 1967 with a varied collection ranging from the 4th to the 10th century. Includes jewelry, building fragments, ceramics, pieces of fabrics etc., Greeks and romans. It house 2 outstanding sections: the longboard gold items and the incredible imperial hall entirely decorated with marble inlays.
The jewels were found in tombs dating from the VI and VII centuries. are of an extraordinary quality that is hard to believe with the idea we have of the dark ages. There are so many gold items, a pleasure for the eyes!
My favorite is the entire room moved from the excavations of ancient Ostia  where possibly belonged to the imperial palace. The time is 4th century., It is the best-inlaid marble room  I have seen. Worth a visit.

The Doria Pamphilj family become a papal family in 1644 with the election of the Pope Innocent X. aside from leaving their mark in Navona square, the palace where the pope nephew lived, located along the Corso road, became one of the most luxurious in town.

The palace of the Doria Pamphili family still hosts their rich painting collection with works by Titian, Caravaggio, Velasquez, Lippi and many others.

​The Piano Nobile gives a good understanding of noble palaces in the baroque times. Absolutely worth a visit.

A collection of memories of the Bonaparte Family donated to the city of Rome. The collection is aimed to document the close relationship between the Bonaparte’s and Rome. These ties were established by force of arms in 1808, after the French occupation of Rome. The city in 1811 was named "and imperial free city", destined to be ruled by Napoleon's son who was given, even before birth, the title of King of Rome.
 Later, after the fall of the Empire, almost all members of the Bonaparte family sought asylum to Pope Pius VII and settled in Rome: the mother Letizia Ramolino, the brothers Louis and Jerome and napoleon’s sister, Pauline.

The exhibition re-create the history of the Roman Republic from 1849 till its tragically but heroic end. Historical documents, educational materials and multimedia are on display.

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The great rooms inside the Vittoriano host over 500 works of art, old photography, relics and arms witnessing the struggles leading to the Italian unification in the 19th century up to the end of the First World War. Historical documentaries are subtitled in English. Worth of notice is the museum of the Italian flags, and the crypt of the unknown soldier.

The Museum of Rome in Trastevere focus on the aspects of popular life in Rome from the late eighteenth to the early twentieth century, documented  through the tastes and beliefs of artists and folklorists who depicted it.
The collection includes paintings, prints, drawings and watercolors, together with representations known as ‘Roman scenes’, depicting life-size aspects of popular Roman life of the nineteenth century.

​The most represented themes are professions, secular and religious festivals, the traditional dresses.

 
Costumes and aspects of the traditional Italian life.

The first among the contemporary architectures realized in the past decades in Rome.
The Auditorium by Renzo Piano is a complex with 3 concert halls, soon renamed by the Romans, ‘le cozze’ (the mussels) where outdoor concerts can be held too in an open air arena.

I still remind the first time I attended a concert soon after it  inaugurated. I was in the medium ‘cozza’ and  the sound was strange, like acid. the structure was too new! In fact, the interior of each audience hall is made of timber, therefore is like a musical instrument in itself.

​Now the cozze are perfect!

The MAXXI museum is a special place for exhibition of contemporary art and a laboratory for cultural, artistic and linguistic experimentation.