The answer what to see in Rome ? has never been easy, because what makes Rome so special is its variety of places, museums and churches worth visiting. Only few cities in the world can offer such a great richness. Some of the most famous monuments can be easily seen walking in the city center. Others equally rich are to be found in old palaces, today converted into museums. Since I had some free time in Rome, I decided to visit the Galleria Nazionale di Arte Antica (Palazzo Barberini) where some scenes of the Oscar winning foreign Italian film the “Great Beauty“ by Paolo Sorrentino had been shot.
The Gallery is easily reachable, only a few steps from the subway stop Barberini. Once you reach it, you can’t help but immediately wonder at the sight of its spectacular gates, its garden courtyard with the fountain and the greatness of its external corridors guiding the visitors to the various wings of the gallery.
And you can easily agreed that this is one of the nicer places to visit in Rome.
Your attention will be instantly drawn to the elegance of this Gallery inspired by the exuberant colors of the ceiling frescoes, the carved wooden doors, the marbles and the rich fabrics used.
I think the most interesting rooms that convey the strongest emotions are those that feature a lesser number of exhibits in this Galleria. It is here in fact that you can witness the greatness of the Italian architects like Borromini and Bernini, whose talents are immediately visible as soon as you cross the threshold at the gates.
The wide courtyard, its smooth columns and its beautiful staircases are only some examples of what will attract the visitor’s attention.
Then, there are the exhibits, the unique masterpieces like paintings by Raffaello, Tintoretto and Caravaggio, the Hall of Corvi with its baroque frescoes created by Domenico Corvi in 1770, the Oval Hall with its tall windows facing the gardens, the Hall of Pietro da Cortona, the hall of the marbles and the spectacular frescoe called the Triumph of Divine Providence that will inspire you with its colours and shapes.
You cannot help but sit in the visitors’ chairs and simply admire these rooms with their grandeur.
This said, I have to say that what impressed me the most is the located in the ground
floor and it’s called the Hall of the Columns. Its light and the sound of running water immediately surround and welcome you. Yes, you read correctly. I said the “sound of water running” welcomes you, because in the centre of the hall there is a white fountain surrounded by pure white columns and statues.
This hall is so beautiful that all the other rooms filled with exhibits and masterpieces almost diminish in value in my eyes.
So I prolonged my stay, visualizing and contemplating the life and times lived in this hall and in Palazzo Barberini.
What to see in Rome ? Visit of the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica and Palazzo Barberini is one of my favorite suggestions.
Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica in Palazzo Barberini
Via delle Quattro Fontane, 13
00186 Roma, Italia
Ph +39 064814591
Opening times: Tuesdays – Sundays from 8:30am to 7:00pm
How to reach The Galleria: Subway Line A stop Barberini
