Rome Art Galleries

(Rome, Lazio, Italy)

No trip to Rome could really be considered complete without checking out at least a few of its biggest and best art galleries. If you only have time for a handful, then pencil in a visit to the Borghese Gallery (Galleria Borghese) on the Piazza Borghese Scipione, which was established as long ago as 1903 and is known for its plentiful sculptures by acclaimed Rome artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598 to 1680).

For art works a little less traditional and more on the contemporary side, a trip to the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna (National Gallery of Modern Art) will be sure to please, since visitors will discover pieces by Cézanne, Monet, Pollock, Rodin and Van Gogh, amongst many other acclaimed artists. The Capitoline Museums (Musei Capitolini) of Rome, on the Piazza del Campidoglio, are also extremely noteworthy, as are the art galleries within the Palazzo Colonna, the Villa Doria Pamphili and the Villa Guilia.

Borghese Gallery (Casino Borghese)

Address: Piazza Borghese Scipione 5, Rome
Tel: +39 (0) 6 854 8577
This is probably Rome's most beautiful museum and it has been sympathetically restored, with tremendous attention to detail. Construction began in 1613 and it was intended to be both a splendid venue for summer parties and also a home for Cardinal Scipione Borghese's lavish collection of paintings and statues. Some of the original collection's works of art were later swapped for a property in northern Italy and these pieces are now displayed in the Musée Louvre in Paris. Over the years, the gaps in the collection have been filled and in the picture gallery on the first floor there are paintings by Raphael, Bottecelli and Pinturicchio, to name but a few.
Open hours: daily - 09:00 to 21:00, Saturday 09:00 to 00:00
Admission: charge

Capitoline Museums (Musei Capitolini In Febrica)

Address: Piazza del Campidoglio, Rome
Tel: +39 (0) 6 6710 2071
The buildings are situated on the east and west sides of Piazza del Campidoglio and both now form one single museum. The buildings' facades were designed by Michelangelo and the exhibits include some of the most celebrated sculptures of the ancient world, such as the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius that once stood in the piazza, the Dying Gaul, the Boy with a Thorn, and the Capitoline Wolf.
Open hours: Tuesday to Friday and Sunday - 09:30 to 19:30, Saturday - 09:30 to 23:00
Admission: charge, free last Sunday of the month

Colonna Gallery

Address: Via della Pilotta, 17, Rome
Tel: +39 (0) 6 6794 362
With paintings from the 15th to 18th century including Bronzino, Guercino and Tintoretto, the gallery is situated inside Palazzo Colonna and houses some of the most interesting works of art in Rome.
Open hours: Saturday - 09:00 to 13:00, closed in August
Admission: charge

Doria Pamphili Gallery

Address: Piazza Collegio Romano, 2, Rome
Tel: +39 (0) 6 6797 323
With around 400 paintings dating from the 15th to 18th century, the Doria Pamphili Gallery includes work from artists Caravaggio, Tiziano and Bellini. There is also a large portrait of Pope Innocent X Pamphili by Velazquez.
Open hours: daily - 10:00 to 17:00
Admission: charge

Museo Nazionale di Villa Giulia

Address: Piazzale di Villa Giulia, 9, Rome
Tel: +39 (0) 6 3226 571
This delightful museum is located at the top end of the Villa Borghese in the Piazzale di Villa Giulia and was built in the mid-16th century for Pope Julius III as his summer residence, It now houses a collection of Etruscan art, including works by Apollo and Veio.
Open hours: daily - 09:00 to 19:00, Saturdays 09:00 to 00:00
Admission: charge

Municipal Gallery of Modern Art

Address: Via Cagliari, 29, Rome
Tel: +39 (0) 6 4742 912
With a staggering 5,000 works of 20th-century Italian art in this gallery, famous artists include De Chirico, Carrà, Morandi, Balla and Costa. Set up in 1925, the collection had been moved several times before finally settling in this location, which was originally an industrial building in the early 20th century.
Open hours: daily - 10:00 to 19:00 , Sunday and feast days to 13:30
Admission: charge

National Gallery of Modern Art (Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna - GNAM)

Address: Viale delle Belle Arti, 131, Rome
Tel: +39 (0) 6 322 981
The National Gallery of Modern Art, or Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna is a huge, white building and contains one of Italy's leading collections of modern art, dating from the 19th and 20th centuries, including a Dadaist collection.
Open hours: daily - 09:00 to 19:00
Admission: charge

Palazzo Altemps

Address: Piazza Sant' Apollinare 46, Piazza Navona, Rome
Tel: +39 (0) 6 683 3759
This beautiful 15th-century palace has been restored and now houses the sculpture collection of the Museo Nazionale Romano. Famous sculptures include the carved reliefs on the Ludovisi Sarcophagus and the Galata, representing a warrior's heroic death. These, and many more, are also labelled in English, making it easy to understand and appreciate.
Open hours: Tuesday to Sunday - 09:00 to 19:45
Admission: charge

Palazzo Massimo

Address: Largo di villa Peretti, 1, Rome
Tel: +39 (0) 6 4815 576
Designed in 1532 to replace a palace that had been destroyed several years earlier, the Palazzo Massimo has four floors, full of fine works of antique art. There is a wonderful collection of portraits, mosaics, and sculptures of the imperial villas. The Aula Ottagona ex Planetarium is also well worth a visit.
Open hours: daily - 09:00 to 20:00