HOME LOCATIONS SERVICES BLOG CONTACTS LOCATIONS \ HISTORIC HOUSES ••• Barberini Palace HISTORIC HOUSES The construction works of Palazzo Barberini began in 1627 under the direction of the architect Carlo Maderno (1556-1629), who initially conceived a quadrangular construction that incorporated the pre-existing Villa Sforza according to the traditional scheme of the Renaissance palace, inspired by the model of Palazzo Farnese. Only later was the open-wing project developed that transformed the building into a palace-villa, combining the two functions of a representative residence for the papal family and a suburban villa. This system, through solutions common to the sixteenth-century villas, ensured a perfect integration of the building into the surrounding environment. In 1629, on the death of Carlo Maderno, Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) took over the direction of the works . The façade of the building on Via delle Quattro Fontane marked, with the double entrance to the right and left of the portico, the subdivision of the two projecting wings of the building: the one to the south intended for the ecclesiastics, Cardinals Antonio and Francesco Barberini, on the top floor of the which Cardinal Francesco, a man of great culture, collector and man of letters had placed his famous library, the north wing was instead occupied by the secular branch of the family, originally by Taddeo, nephew of Urban VIII and his wife Anna Colonna. The rooms used as the National Gallery of Ancient Art are located on the noble floor of this part of the building; among the frescoed vaults, in room VII, there is a fresco depicting the Triumph of Divine Wisdom, an eloquent example of Roman painting of the '600 of classicist taste, executed between 1629 and 1633 by Andrea Sacchi . The two wings are also differentiated by the stairs which lead to the two sectors of the building. To the left of the portico, there is the monumental staircase , attributed to Bernini, which reflects the classic sixteenth-century typology called a “square well” with a spectacular lighting effect that can well refer to Bernini's sensitivity and artistic ideal. To the right of the portico, the spiral staircase attributed to Francesco Borromini, led to the rooms used by Cardinal Francesco as a library. The staircase winds around an elliptical room with extreme lightness and repeats in the scheme, the sixteenth-century model of Palazzo Farnese in Caprarola, the work of Vignola. Today's entrance on via delle Quattro Fontane was underlined with the construction of the gate and the railing. LOCATION DETAILS Historic center - Portico CONTACT US Your Name (required) Your email (requested) Object Your message © Christmas 2021 | Credits