| Palazzo Barberini | |
|---|---|
 Palazzo Barberini entrance and façade | |
 Click on the map for a fullscreen view | |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Baroque |
| Location | Rome,Italy |
| Coordinates | 41°54′13″N12°29′25″E / 41.90361°N 12.49028°E /41.90361; 12.49028 |
| Construction started | 1625 |
| Completed | 1633 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architects | Gian Lorenzo Bernini Carlo Maderno Francesco Borromini |
ThePalazzo Barberini (English:Barberini Palace) is a 17th-century palace inRome, facing thePiazza Barberini inRione Trevi. Today, it houses theGalleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, the main national collection of older paintings in Rome.
Around 1549Cardinal Alessandro Sforza came into possession of the garden/vineyard of CardinalRodolfo Pio da Carpi on theQuirinal Hill, where theSforza family had apalazzetto built. The sloping, semi-urban site was purchased in 1625 from Alessandro Sforza, Duca diSegni, by Maffeo Barberini, of theBarberini family, who becamePope Urban VIII.[1]
Three great architects worked to create the Palazzo, each contributing his own style and character to the building.[2]Carlo Maderno, then at work extending the nave ofSt Peter's, was commissioned to enclose the Villa Sforza within a vastRenaissance block along the lines ofPalazzo Farnese;[3] however, the design quickly evolved into a precedent-setting combination of an urban seat of princely power combined with a garden front that had the nature of a suburbanvilla with a semi-enclosed garden.
Maderno began in 1627, assisted by his nephewFrancesco Borromini. When Maderno died in 1629, Borromini was passed over and the commission to oversee construction was awarded toBernini,[4] a young prodigy then better known as a sculptor. Borromini stayed on regardless and the two architects worked together, albeit briefly, on this project and at thePalazzo Spada. Works were completed by Bernini in 1633.
The palace was inhabited mainly by Pope Urban VIII’s two nephewsFrancesco andTaddeo, with Taddeo and his family living in one wing and Francesco in the other. Francesco established there theArazzia Barberini or Barberini Tapestry works, which operated from 1627 until 1679.[5]
In February 1634, a revised version ofIl Sant'Alessio was performed at theTeatro delle Quattro Fontane, the Cardinal's private opera theater in the Palazzo.[6] The Cardinal had written the libretto and Stefano Landi the music.[7] Cardinal Francesco's other contributions to the Palazzo were a small natural science museum and botanical garden and a library which included ancient Greek and Roman manuscripts. His collections attested to his interests in ancient sculpture, numismatics and inscriptions. In 1902, the largeBiblioteca Barberina was purchased by PopeLeo XIII and became part of the Vatican holdings.[8]
After theWars of Castro and the death of Urban VIII, the palace was confiscated byPamphiliPope Innocent X and was only returned to the Barberini in 1653.
Christina of Sweden visited Rome in December 1655. Nobles vied for her attention and treated her to a never-ending round of fireworks, jousts, mock duels, acrobatics, and operas. She was welcomed at the Palazzo Barberini on 28 February by a few hundred privileged spectators, as she watched an amazing carousel in the courtyard.[9]
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Maderno envisioned a floor plan in the shape of an "H", with the Sforza wing facing the piazza. A second parallel wing is connected by a central hall. Flanking the hall, two sets of stairs lead to thepiano nobile, a large squared staircase by Bernini to the left and a smaller oval staircase by Borromini to the right.[4] The main block presents three tiers of great arch-headed windows, like glazed arcades, a formula that was more Venetian than Roman. On the uppermost floor, Borromini's windows are set in a false perspective that suggests extra depth, a feature that has been copied into the 20th century. Other influential aspects of Palazzo Barberini that were repeated throughout Europe include the unit of a central two-storey hall backed by an ovalsalone and the symmetrical wings that extended forward from the main block to create acour d'honneur.
The garden is known as agiardino segreto ("secret garden"), for its concealment from an outsider's view. It houses a monument toBertel Thorwaldsen, who had a studio in the nearby stables of the Palazzo Barberini in 1822–1834.
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On the salon ceiling is aBaroque fresco byPietro da Cortona,Allegory of Divine Providence and Barberini Power. This vast panegyric allegory became highly influential in guiding decoration for palatial and church ceilings; its influence can be seen in other panoramic scenes such as the frescoed ceilings atSant'Ignazio (byPozzo); or those atVilla Pisani atStra, the throne room of theRoyal Palace of Madrid, and theCa' Rezzonico inVenice (byTiepolo). Also in the palace isDivine Wisdom byAndrea Sacchi, a contemporary critic of the Cortona style.
The rooms of thepiano nobile have frescoed ceilings by other seventeenth-century artists likeGiuseppe Passeri andAndrea Camassei. In the museum collection are precious detached frescoes byPolidoro da Caravaggio and his loverMaturino da Firenze.
Around the mid 18th-century a Rococo-style apartment was decorated on the top floor. Descendants of the Barberini family lived in the 1700-style apartment in the palazzo until 1955.[4]
During the construction of Villa Savorgnan di Brazzà in 1936, aMithraeum, probably dating from the second century AD, was found hidden in the cellars of the rear part of the Palazzo.
TheEuropean Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which created theEuropean Court of Human Rights, was signed in the Palazzo on 4 November 1950, a milestone in the protection of human rights.
Today, Palazzo Barberini houses theGalleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, one of the most important painting collections in Italy. It includesRaphael's portraitLa fornarina,Caravaggio'sJudith Beheading Holofernes, and aHans Holbein portrait ofHenry VIII. The Palazzo also houses sculptures, includingAntonio Corradini's workVestal Virgin Tuccia, and the Italian Institute of Numismatics.
Media related toPalazzo Barberini a Roma at Wikimedia Commons
| Preceded by Palazzo Aragona Gonzaga | Landmarks of Rome Palazzo Barberini | Succeeded by Palazzo Borghese |
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