Rome in the Footsteps of an XVIIIth Century Traveller

Rome is an open air museum: many works of arts embellish its streets and squares and its churches contain paintings and sculptures of the greatest artists from Michelangelo to Raphael, from Rubens to Bernini.
The museums of Rome complement the treasures on display in streets and churches with a variety of collections which are usually located in palaces which per sè are a work of art, so that often the container is as important as its contents.
The following is a list of the main museums and archaeological areas (which often include a museum) of Rome.

Location of the main museums (1912 clickable map)

Legend:

• Museo Nazionale Romano
• Other National Museums
• Archaeological Areas
• Museums belonging to the Holy See
• Museums belonging to the City of Rome
• Private Collections

I - Museo Nazionale Romano

Name	Location	Comment
Museo delle Terme di Diocleziano	Via E. de Nicola 78 (K4)	It is located in part in Diocletian's Baths and in part in a nearby monastery designed by Michelangelo. Its epigraphic collection helps understanding the variety of beliefs which coexisted in Rome during the Empire.
Palazzo Massimo alle Terme	Largo di Villa Peretti, 1 (K4)	A striking collection of ancient statues, mosaics, paintings and coins. A must.
Palazzo Altemps	Piazza di S. Apollinare, 44 (E4)	A collection of ancient statues which once belonged to the Ludovisi and embellished their villa is now displayed in a late Renaissance palace with a charming loggia.
Cripta di Balbo	Via delle Botteghe Oscure, 31 (G7)	A selection of ancient exhibits aimed at explaining the transition of Rome from the Empire to the Middle Ages: it includes a visit to the walls of a Roman theatre.

Palazzo Massimo alle Terme: fresco from Villa della Farnesina

II - Other National Museums

Museo e Galleria Borghese	Piazzale Scipione Borghese 5 (I1	The two hours allowed for the visit are not enough to thoroughly appreciate the paintings and statues collected by the Borghese.
Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica a Palazzo Barberini	Via delle Quattro Fontane 13 (I4)	A fine collection of Renaissance and Baroque paintings in a palace designed by Bernini with the assistance of Borromini and decorated by Pietro da Cortona.
Galleria di Palazzo Spada	Piazza Capo di Ferro 3 (E7)	The collection of XVIIth century paintings assembled by Cardinal Bernardino Spada is still arranged according to its owner's wishes.
Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica a Palazzo Corsini	Via della Lungara 10 (D7)	A wing of the large palace houses the collection of paintings of Cardinal Corsini: some rooms belong to the earlier palace where Cristina, Queen of Sweden, lived.
Museo Nazionale Etrusco di Villa Giulia	Piazzale di Villa Giulia 9 (NA)	Some of the finest Etruscan statues, tombs and vases in an elegant Renaissance setting.
Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna	Viale delle Belle Arti 131 (NA)	A very well arranged collection of paintings and sculptures of the XIXth and XXth century, including a large number of Macchiaioli and Futurist paintings.
Museo di Palazzo Venezia	Via del Plebiscito 118 (G6)	The museum for those interested in minor arts: ceramics, porcelains, bronze statuettes, ivory artefacts, rock crystal jewels.
Museo di Castel Sant'Angelo	Lungotevere Castello 50 (D4)	A journey through the history of the building from the inner Roman circular street to the Renaissance apartments of the popes and their trap-doors.
Museo Nazionale Preistorico Etnografico	Piazzale Guglielmo Marconi, 14 (at EUR)	It includes part of the artefacts collected by Athanasius Kircher (1602-1680), a professor at Collegio Romano; they were sent to him by the Jesuit missions in Asia, Africa and South America.
Museo dell'Alto Medioevo	Viale A. Lincoln 3 (at EUR)	A small museum where one learns that the Longobards praised their horses more than their women. A stunning IVth century Roman hall excavated at Ostia Antica is a very recent addition to the museum.

Museo dell'Alto Medioevo: Opus Sectile found near Porta Marina at Ostia Antica

III - Archaeological Areas

Foro Romano	Several access points (H7)	All the periods of the history of Ancient Rome have left a trace on this site: from Lacus Curtius to Rostra Vandalica.
Palatino	Several access points (H8)	The marbles and the columns of the imperial palaces are gone, but the colossal walls still tell how great was Rome.
Colosseo	Piazza del Colosseo (I8)	The "must" of Ancient Rome may leave you like Marcel Proust after having attended a performance of the great Berma (Remembrance of Things Past).
Terme di Caracalla	Viale Terme di Caracalla, 52 (J11)	A still unsurpassed fitness centre and in summer the site of opera performances.
Ostia Antica	Viale dei Romagnoli, 717 (NA)	The harbour of Ancient Rome was a cosmopolitan and tolerant city and its ruins offer a clue to figure out its everyday life.

Ostia Antica: "Decumanus Maximus" near the Forum

IV - Museums belonging to the Holy See

Musei Vaticani	Viale Vaticano 49 (A3)	Its many sections make it the Louvre of Rome: unfortunately short opening hours do not allow enough time to see them all and some sections are not always open.
Museo Storico Vaticano	Piazza di S. Giovanni in Laterano (L9)	The container, the palace built by Pope Sixtus V, prevails on the content, which illustrates the history of the Papal State.

(left) Coat of arms of Pope Sixtus V at Museo Storico Vaticano; (right) the very simple sedan chair used by Pope John XXIII at Musei Vaticani

V - Museums belonging to the City of Rome

Musei Capitolini	Piazza del Campidoglio (H7)	The collections were started by the popes in the XVIth century and include a large number of Roman statues: the terrace offers a striking view on the domes of Rome.
Museo di Roma a Palazzo Braschi	Via di San Pantaleo (E6)	The last Roman palace built by the relatives of a pope is worth visiting for its paintings illustrating Rome and its environs in the XVIIIth and XIXth centuries.
Centrale Montemartini	Via Ostiense 106 (NA)	A former power plant where the City of Rome has placed some of its ancient statues. It is an interesting blend of industrial and traditional archaeology.
Museo della Civiltà Romana	Piazza G. Agnelli, 10 (at EUR)	A collection of copies of Roman monuments in Europe, Africa and Asia, with many large scale models of buildings and events.

Centrale Montemartini: late Ist century BC relief. It was found at Horti Sallustiani

Museo della Civiltà Romana: large scale model of Rome in the early IVth century

VI - Private Collections

Galleria Doria Pamphilj	Piazza del Collegio Romano 2 (G6)	A rich collection of works by Caravaggio, Velazquez, Bernini and Algardi displayed according to the XVIIIth century taste.
Galleria Colonna	Piazza SS. Apostoli 66 (H5)	In addition to the fine collection of paintings it is worth visiting for the ceilings celebrating Marcantonio II Colonna and his role in the battle of Lepanto.

Galleria Doria Pamphilj: orange and lemon trees in the courtyard

The image used as background for this page shows Apollo del Belvedere, a masterpiece of Musei Vaticani.