Palazzo Barberini Guide: Tickets, Prices & Highlights

Palazzo Barberini is a 17th-century palace built for the family of Pope Urban VIII, with contributions from three of the era's leading architects — Carlo Maderno, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, and Francesco Borromini. It now houses the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, Rome's main collection of pre-19th-century paintings.

Standard admission is EUR 15.00 (EUR 2.00 reduced for EU citizens aged 18-25), with free entry on the first Sunday of each month. A single ticket, valid for 20 days, covers both Palazzo Barberini and its sister site, Galleria Corsini, across the river in Trastevere.

The collection includes major works by Raphael, Caravaggio, Holbein, and El Greco, but the building itself is also a highlight: Borromini's helical spiral staircase, Bernini's separate square-plan staircase, and Pietro da Cortona's monumental ceiling fresco "The Triumph of Divine Providence" in the palace's grand salon.

The palace sits a short walk from Piazza Barberini and the Trevi Fountain, making it easy to combine with a stroll through that part of central Rome.

Construction began in 1625 after Maffeo Barberini became Pope Urban VIII, consolidating an existing villa into a grand family palace. Carlo Maderno led the initial design, with Bernini and Borromini — then young rivals working under Maderno and later independently — each contributing a distinct staircase that reflects their differing architectural styles.

The Italian state acquired part of the palace in 1949 to house the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica's collection, which had previously been displayed elsewhere; restoration and reorganization of the galleries continued over subsequent decades.