In Italy there are many stunning historical buildings that have passed through many centuries and give us the opportunity to have an idea of the past eras. One of these historical complexes is the Palazzo Barberini. The palace was once the abode of a very influential family of Barberini. But since then, much time has passed and now an art gallery is located within its walls, in which you can see the canvases of Raphael, Titian, Caravaggio, Reni and many others. The palace is an integral part of the National Gallery of Ancient Art.
Genus history
In the eleventh century, the Barberini family settled in Florence, which even then was rich and influential. One of the family members - Raphael - visited Russia in 1564 with a letter for Ivan the Terrible from the English Queen Elizabeth. The letter dealt with the establishment of commercial ties. And today, the library of the palace contains the work of Raphael, in which he described everything he saw in Moscow during the trip.
The greatest contribution to the exaltation of the clan was made by Maffeo Barberini. By the way. His nephews Antonio and Francesco became cardinals, and another representative of the family - Taddeo - became the prince of Palestrina, was also appointed army general and even received the post of prefect of Rome. M. Barberini himself was elected Pope and was known by the name of Pontiff Urban VIII. But in 1645, after his death, difficult times came for the whole family. The new Pope Innocent X came to power, who provided evidence of all kinds of fraud and abuse of the Barberini family. So representatives of a noble family fell into disgrace. Only later did the situation change a little thanks to the patronage of Cardinal Mazarin. But already in the middle of the eighteenth century, the male branch of the family stopped. Princess Cornelia - the last member of the clan - got married and laid the foundation for a new branch - Barberini Colonna.
History of the Palazzo Barberini
Initially, the palace was conceived, almost a monarch's residence. He was going to dwell with his family, Urban VIII, so the plans included receptions of high-ranking guests. And that means the building should have corresponded to such a high status.
In the medieval era, the territory on which the Palazzo Barberini was later built belonged to the wealthy Sforza family. It was at their request that the first small palace was built here. However, due to financial problems in 1625, Alessandro Sforza sold the land to M. Barberini, who at that time was already elected Pope. The new owner immediately set about rebuilding the palace. Construction work continued from 1627 to 1634. Initially, Carlo Moderna worked on the project. In the future, the plans gradually changed. And he was replaced by Francesco Borromini. Well, D. Bernini and Pietro da Corton finished the construction work.
The large palace building consisted of a main building and two adjacent wings. For the first time in the history of the city, a beautiful large park was laid out around the palace. True, to this day it has not survived, since it was destroyed.
The pontiff even introduced new taxes, so that Francesco Borromini could finish the beautiful architectural creation in time.
The work was carried out quickly enough. According to Bernini's plan, the rear facade of the building was first made, and then the windows and spiral staircase. Soon His staircase appeared in the left wing, decorated in the form of a square well. In addition, the architect was also involved in the design of the front facade of the building, which faces Four Fountains. It is from this side that the main entrance of the palace with a metal fence and pillars in the form of Atlantes is located.
The modern street of San Nicola de Tolentino is the place for stables. And on Bernini Street is the Manege Courtyard and the theater. All buildings to the left of Piazza Barberini were destroyed in due time.
Activities of the Barberini family
For a decade, the family has been active in philanthropy. In the seventeenth century, the modern Barberini Gallery has become a gathering place for artists. Salon Barberini was visited by such famous people as Gabriello Chiabrera, Giovanni Champoli, Francesco Bracciolini, Lorenzo Bernini and many others.
Of course, from a height of time, the patronage of Barberini looks more like using representatives of art to decorate the palace and exalt itself. This is confirmed even by the interiors of the building. In the central hall of the salon there is an amazing ceiling, which was called the "Triumph of Divine Providence." The giant canvas is dedicated to the Barberini family.
Another, no less luxurious ceiling, was painted by Andrea Sacchi and was called the "Triumph of Divine Wisdom." The painting was also dedicated to Urban VIII.
Palace decor
The Palazzo Barberini undoubtedly boasts luxurious decor. An amazing place to admire is the statue hall and the Marble Hall, located in the left wing of the complex. In them you can see real examples of the classics of sculpture, which are included in the Barberini collection. By the way, the hall of statues was very famous in Italy, because it was rich and beautiful. From 1627 to 1683 a tapestry workshop was operating in the palace walls. The first Flemish fabrics were produced here, which became a real decoration of many baroque palaces in Rome.
The tapestries were real works of art. They were made according to the sketches of da Corton, and supervised the work of Jacopo de Rivera. The last floor of the building was occupied by the library of Cardinal Francesco (pope's nephew). It totaled 10 thousand manuscripts and 60 thousand volumes.
The fate of the palace
After the death of the pontiff in 1644, the Barberini palazzo was confiscated by order of the new Pope Innocent. The heirs of Urban VIII were suspected of embezzlement. But in 1653, the beautiful palazzo again became the property of the family. Later, at the beginning of the twentieth century, the heirs had to abandon the family palace due to the economic crisis. In 1935, part of the building was acquired by the Finmar shipping company, which completely rebuilt it. And in 1949, the entire complex was purchased by the state. The Barberini family in 1952 also sold all their sculptures and paintings. Later, a gallery was located in the left wing of the building, and the right was used for officer meetings.
The decoration and architecture of the building
Photos of the palace cannot fully convey its beauty. The three-story building consists of a main building, and also has two side wings. The entire territory of the estate is surrounded by a fence, on which flies are present (a symbol of the genus). Behind the main building there is a small hour, which is only a small remainder of the past. And yet the garden is impressive even now.
The left wing of the building is decorated with frescoes by Pietro de Cortona, created in 1630. Carlo Maderna and P. de Cortona made a huge contribution to creating a unique palazzo image.
As we already mentioned, there are antique statues in the right wing. Rob Barberini had a whole collection of antique works. Unfortunately, only a few creations have survived to this day. For a long time, the hall was used as a theater, it accommodated about 200 spectators. One of the most unusual sights is the stunning spiral staircase of the hands of Francesco Borromini.
Gallery of Ancient Art
As we have already mentioned, the National Gallery of Ancient Art is currently located within the walls of the palace. By the way, her exposition occupies two buildings at once - the Palazzo Corsini and the Palazzo Barberini. At one time, a rich collection was obtained by merging several well-known private collections. The basis of the exposition was a collection of works of art by Nero Corsini. Later, the collection was replenished with the collections of the Duke of Torlonia, as well as canvases from a gallery called Monte di Pieta. All these private collections were united into a single whole and placed in the National Gallery. Among them you can see the works of Caravaggio, Raphael, Guido Reni, El Greco, Titian and many other great artists.
The pride of the collection is the work of Renaissance masters. In the palazzo is the painting “Fornarin” by Raphael, as well as “Judith and Holofernes” by Caravaggio.
The fate of the library
At one time, the upper floor of the palazzo was occupied by a large library. An impressive collection of books and manuscripts testifies to the high level of intelligence of the person to whom it belonged. Later, the entire library was transferred to the Vatican. But in the rooms where the books were previously located, the museum of the Institute of Numismatics is now located.
Exhibition Halls of the Palace
Not so long ago, the palazzo was closed for restoration work, which lasted five years. The building was again opened to visitors in 2011. There are currently 34 halls in the building. And in November 2014, several more rooms of Cornelia Constance Barberini herself, located on the second floor of the palace, were also opened. It was in them, until 1955, that the last heirs of the once great family lived. Here, miraculously preserved interiors and furniture, so that contemporaries can have an idea of the tastes of the nobility of the eighteenth century. However, these halls can be visited only on certain days. They are opened for guests on the first Saturday of each month for excursion groups by prior arrangement.
The area around the palazzo
The garden located behind the building became part of the palace complex designed by Maderno. It is decorated with ornate hedges and beautiful flower beds. Initially, the garden occupied a very vast territory. For his arrangement, Cardinal Barberini, the pope’s nephew, invited the naturalist and botanist Cassiano dal Pozzo, who cultivated all kinds of exotic plants on the territory, and also various animals lived here: deer, ostriches and even camels. However, at the end of the nineteenth century, Rome was annexed to the kingdom of Italy, in connection with which they began to sell sections of the garden for the construction of ministerial buildings. In addition, in 1936, by decree of Mussolini, most of the land was transferred to the hands of Count Ascanio di Bazza. As a result, the modern garden has a very modest size compared to the original.
In fairness, it is worth noting that over its entire long history the palace building has not undergone any changes. The only additional decoration of the building was a fountain designed by Francesco Azzurri.
By the way, the fence along the Four Fountains Street and the main front gate were built only in 1865. The statues of the Atlanteans were designed and manufactured by Shipione Tadolini, who was a hereditary architect from the famous family of sculptors.
Collaborators or competitors
Several architects made efforts to build and design the palace. The construction began with Carlo Maderna, which significantly increased the renaissance building of the original Sforza villa. After all, the architect had the task of building a real masterpiece. But Maderno never managed to complete the work he had begun and to see the finished palace with his own eyes. After his death, Jean Bérini, who collaborated with the grandson of Maderno, named Francesco Borromini, was in charge of the work.
Experts are still actively debating about how much the original design of the palace was changed or preserved. After all, the fact is obvious that some parts of the building are very contradictory, which is noticeable even to those people who are far from architecture. It is believed that the monumental staircase, the main entrance is the work of Bernini. Perhaps, in contrast, a spiral staircase was built, along which you can reach the upper floors. It was she who led to the library of Cardinal Barberini.
Tourists reviews
According to tourists who have visited the beautiful palazzo, the building and its collection of art is worth a look. By the way, the palace (photo is given in the article) is included in the list of “Mast Si” for travelers. Of course, that part of the collection of paintings that is stored in the Palazzo Barberini is not so large, but here you can see very famous works worthy of the attention of guests.
The architecture of the building and its interior are truly amazing. The complex was once built on a large scale, but even now, even what has come down to our days gives an idea of those times.
The National Gallery, located within the walls of the palace, is open to visitors throughout the week except Monday. Tourists note that the palazzo is not crowded, so you can absolutely calmly see everything that interests you. There are no large crowds, as in other interesting places in the city.
Not only the building itself deserves attention, but also the garden, or rather, that small part that remains of it. Well, there’s no need to talk about the gallery’s paintings. The masterpieces presented here are world famous. Therefore, once in Rome, it is worth seeing the most important sights of the city, including the inimitable Palazzo Barberini.