Rome’s Top 10 : Museums and Galleries

by



  1. Vatican Museums

    Occupying
    papal palaces dating from the 13th century onwards, these galleries
    include the Graeco-Roman antiquities, the Etruscan Museum, four Raphael
    Rooms, the Collection of Modern Religious Art, the Sistine Chapel and
    the Picture Gallery .




    Sala dei Misteri, Vatican Museums

  2. Museo Nazionale Romano

    Founded
    in 1889, this museum’s holdings include archaeological finds and
    antiquities unearthed since 1870, plus pre-existing collections. The
    works are spread around five separate locations: the Baths of
    Diocletian, the Aula Ottagona – a part of the baths, nearby Palazzo
    Massimo, Palazzo Altemps, and the recently opened Crypta Balbi .

  3. Galleria Borghese

    A
    tribute to the unbridled power of favoured papal nephews in the 1600s,
    this pleasure-palace, its priceless collections of art, and its newly
    restored gardens comprise one of the most gorgeous sights in Rome .




    Galleria Borghese

  4. Musei Capitolini

    The
    glorious square, designed by no less than Michelangelo, is home to
    smaller papal art collections than the Vatican’s, but equally invaluable .




    Palazzo dei Conservatori, Musei Capitoline

  5. Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica

    This state art collection is now divided between two noble family residences: Palazzo Barberini  and Palazzo Corsini.
    The first boasts the Gran Salone, with its dazzling illusionistic
    ceiling by Pietro da Cortona, along with works by Filippo Lippi, El
    Greco, Holbein and Caravaggio. The second houses a Fra Angelico
    triptych, and paintings by Rubens, Van Dyck and Caravaggio.

  6. Villa Giulia

    The
    building itself is a 16th-century country retreat designed for Pope
    Julius III by Vignola. Since 1889, it has housed the state collection of
    pre-Roman art, including Etruscan artifacts and relics of the Latins
    and other tribes. The prize Etruscan work is the 6th-century BC Husband
    and Wife Sarcophagus, a large terracotta showing a serenely smiling
    couple on a couch .




    Villa Giulia

  7. Galleria Doria Pamphilj

    This
    aristocratic family’s palace is filled with masterpieces by such
    painters as Raphael, Titian and Velázquez, whose portrait of the
    Pamphilj pope is famous for its psychological depth. This exhibit is
    fortunate to have a superb audio-guide, narrated by the present-day
    Prince Jonathan Doria Pamphilj (in English) that gives rare insight into
    the history of the collection .




  8. Palazzo and Galleria Spada

    This
    superb 16th-century palace contains a specially built 17th-century
    gallery to hold the cardinals’ collection of Renaissance, Baroque and
    later works, including paintings by Rubens and Jan Brueghel the Elder.
    One of the high points is Borromini’s whimsical trompe-l’oeil gallery, a clever study in illusory perspective that appears to be four times longer that it really is .

  9. Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna

    The belle époque
    home to this collection offers sculptures by Canova and an exhaustive
    view of 19th-century Italian and European painting. There is also an
    eclectic selection of modern works, including artists Rodin, Cézanne,
    Modigliani, Van Gogh, Monet, Klimt and Jackson Pollock.

    • Viale delle Belle Arti, 131

    • 06 323 4000

    • Open 8:30am–7:30pm Tue–Sun

    • Adm

  10. Galleria Comunale d’Arte Moderna

    Begun
    from a small donation to the city in 1883, this collection has grown to
    include examples of every major 19th- and 20th-century Italian artistic
    movement. Exhibitions include canvases by De Chirico, Morandi and Afro,
    as well as sculptures.

    • Via Francesco Crispi 24

    • 06 474 2848

    • The gallery is undergoing restoration work, call ahead for opening times

    • Adm