In Italy, there are many amazing 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 at one time was the abode of a very influential family of Barberini. But a lot of time has passed since then and now there is an art gallery within its walls, where you can see paintings by Raphael, Titian, Caravaggio, Reni and many others. The palace is an integral part of the National Gallery of Ancient Art.
History of the family
In the eleventh century, the Barberini family settled in Florence, which was already rich and influential at that time. One of the family members - Raphael - visited Russia in 1564 with a letter for Ivan the Terrible from the English Queen Elizabeth. The letter de alt with the establishment of commercial ties. And today, Raphael's work is kept in the library of the palace, in which he described everything he saw in Moscow during his trip.
It was Maffeo Barberini who made the greatest contribution to the ex altation of the family. By the way. His nephews Antonio and Francesco became cardinals, and another member of the family, Taddeo, became Prince of Palestrina, and was also appointed general of the army andeven received the post of prefect of Rome. M. Barberini himself was elected Pope and was known under the name of Pope 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 sorts of machinations and abuses of the Barberini family. So representatives of a noble family fell into disgrace. Only later did the situation change slightly thanks to the patronage of Cardinal Mazarin. But already in the middle of the eighteenth century, the male branch of the family was cut short. Princess Cornelia - the last representative of the family - got married and laid the foundation for a new branch - Barberini-Column.
History of Palazzo Barberini
Initially, the palace was conceived as almost a royal residence. Urbana VIII was going to live in it with his family, so the plans included receptions of high-ranking guests. This meant that the building had to correspond to such a high status.
In the medieval era, the territory on which the Palazzo Barberini was later erected belonged to the we althy 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 lands to M. Barberini, who at that time had already been elected Pope. The new owner immediately began to rebuild the palace. Construction work continued from 1627 to 1634. Initially, Carlo Moderna worked on the project. In the future, plans gradually changed. And he was replaced by Francesco Borromini. Well, finishedconstruction work by D. Bernini and Pietro da Corton.
The large palace building consisted of a main body and two adjoining wings. For the first time in the history of the city, a beautiful large park was laid out around the palace. True, it has not survived to this day, since it was destroyed.
The Pontiff even introduced new taxes so that Francesco Borromini could finish the beautiful architectural creation on time.
The work was carried out quickly enough. According to the plan of Bernini, the rear facade of the building was first made, and then the windows and the spiral staircase. Soon His staircase appeared in the left wing, designed 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 overlooks Four Fountains Street. 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 home to the stables. And on Bernini Street there is a Manezhny yard and a theater. All buildings to the left of Piazza Barberini were destroyed at one time.
Activities of the Barberini family
For ten years, the family has been active in patronage activities. The modern Barberini gallery already in the seventeenth century became a gathering place for representatives of the arts. The Barberini Salon was visited by such famous people as Gabriello Chiabrera, Giovanni Ciampoli, Francesco Bracciolini, Lorenzo Bernini and many others.
Of course, from the height of time, Barberini's patronage looks more like the use of representatives of art forthe decoration of the palace and the ex altation of oneself. This is confirmed even by the interiors of the building. In the central hall of the salon there is a stunning 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
Palazzo Barberini undoubtedly boasts luxurious decor. A stunning place worthy of admiration is the Hall of Statues 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 were 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 workshop for the production of tapestries worked 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 true works of art. They were made according to the sketches of da Cortona, and Jacopo de Rivere supervised the work. The last floor of the building was occupied by the library of Cardinal Francesco (nephew of the pope). It contained 10,000 manuscripts and 60,000 volumes.
Further fate of the palace
After the death of the pontiff in 1644, the Palazzo Barberini 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 passed intofamily property. 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 Finmare shipping company, which completely rebuilt it. And in 1949 the whole complex was purchased by the state. The Barberini family also sold all their sculptures and paintings in 1952. Later, a gallery was located in the left wing of the building, while the right wing was used for officer meetings.
Decoration and architecture of the building
Photos of the palace cannot fully convey its beauty. The three-storey building consists of the main body and also has two side wings. The entire territory of the estate is fenced with flies (a symbol of the clan). Behind the main building there is a small hour, which is only a small remnant of the old days. Yet the garden is impressive even now.
The left wing of the building is decorated with frescoes by Pietro de Cortona, created in the 1630s. Carlo Maderna and P. de Cortona made a huge contribution to the creation of a unique image of the palazzo.
As we already mentioned, there are ancient 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 theatrical hall, it could accommodate about 200 spectators. One of the most unusual sights is the stunning spiral staircase by Francesco Borromini.
Antique Art Gallery
As we mentioned, currently in the wallsThe palace houses the National Gallery of Ancient Art. By the way, its exposition occupies two buildings at once - Palazzo Corsini and Palazzo Barberini. At one time, a rich collection was obtained by merging several well-known private collections. The basis of the exposition was the 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 the gallery called Monte di Pieta. All these private collections were combined 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 are the works of the masters of the Renaissance. The palazzo houses the painting "Fornarina" by Raphael, as well as "Judith and Holofernes" by Caravaggio.
The fate of the library
At one time the top 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 used to be, now there is a museum of the Institute of Numismatics.
Palace Exhibition Halls
Not long ago, the palazzo was closed for five years of restoration work. The building was reopened to visitors in 2011. Currently, guests can see 34 halls in the building. And in November 2014, several more rooms of Cornelia Constance Barberini herself, located on the second floor, were also opened.palace. It was in them until 1955 that the last heirs of the once great family lived. The interiors and furnishings miraculously survived here, thanks to which contemporaries can have an idea of the tastes of the nobility of the eighteenth century. However, these halls can only be visited on certain days. They are open to guests on the first Saturday of each month for tour groups by prior arrangement.
The area around the palazzo
A part of the palace complex designed by Maderno was a garden located behind the building. It is decorated with ornate hedges and beautiful flower beds. Initially, the garden occupied a very vast area. For its 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 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 plots of the garden began to be sold 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 ones.
To be fair, it should be noted that throughout its long history, the building of the palace has hardly undergone any changes. The only additional decoration of the building was a fountain designed by Francesco Azzurri.
By the way, the fence along Four Fountains Street and the main front gate were builtonly in 1865. The statues of the Atlanteans were designed and made by Sipione Tadolini, who was a hereditary architect from a famous family of sculptors.
Co-authors or competitors
Several architects contributed to the construction and decoration of the palace. The construction was started by Carlo Maderna, who significantly enlarged the Renaissance building of the original Villa Sforza. After all, the architect was faced with the task of building a real masterpiece. But Maderno never managed to complete the work he had begun and see the finished palace with his own eyes. After his death, Jean Berini, who collaborated with Maderno's grandson Francesco Borromini, became the head of the work.
Specialists are still actively arguing about how much the original design of the palace has been 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 opposition, a spiral staircase was built, which leads to the upper floors. It was she who led to the library of Cardinal Barberini.
Reviews of tourists
According to tourists who have visited the beautiful palazzo, the building and its art collection are worth seeing. By the way, the palace (the photo is given in the article) is included in the must-see list 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 decoration is really amazing. The complex was once built on a large scale, but even now, even what has survived to this day 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 safely see everything that interests you. There are no large crowds of people here, as in other interesting places in the city.
Not only the building itself deserves attention, but also the garden, or rather, the small part that remains of it. Well, there is no need to talk about the paintings of the gallery. The masterpieces presented here are known all over the world. Therefore, once in Rome, it is worth seeing the most important sights of the city, including the inimitable Palazzo Barberini.
