Rome Escorts

The rich history of art in Rome goes back to the city's days at the centre of an impenetrable European empire.  While the Roman Empire has come and gone, art lovers and world travellers benefit from its excesses as they walk into art galleries.  Rome's collection of art galleries takes travellers from the origins of the city through the post-modern era without the aid of a time machine.

The starting point for any traveller's tour of Roman art galleries should be the Musei Capitolini.  This museum was established by Pope Sixtus IV in 1471 and survives as a testament to Italy's various artistic periods.  The Musei Capitolini has a permanent collection of coins, inscriptions, and sculptures that were common throughout the Roman Empire.  This museum also maintains a gallery of Latin and Greek works, as well as a collection of Italian artists like Tintoretto, Titian, and Rubens.  Travellers can also track down marble sculptures and work from the Greeks, Egyptians, and Etruscans, if they are interested in the history of the Mediterranean.

The Palatine Museum in Rome goes a long way toward preserving the city's imperial past for the benefit of global trekkers.  This museum recently reopened after an extensive renovation that was designed to make the collection more accessible.  Visitors to the two-level Palatine Museum can see statues by Adrian and Anthony, as well as inlaid works that were created during Rome's halcyon days.

The next step for art lovers in Rome is bridging the gap between the Roman Empire and the city we know today.  The Corsini Gallery was built in the 15th century, remodeled in the 18th century, and offers an interesting blend of paintings from Italy since the Renaissance.  The Corsini Gallery is known for its collection of Italian paintings from different regions including the Piedmont, Sicily, and Sardinia.  This art gallery also holds paintings from Rubens, Brueghel, and Caravaggio that reflect the history of art in Italy.

Another art gallery worth visiting in Rome is the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica. This gallery is housed in the Palazzo Barberini that acts as a piece of art in its own right.  Italian artists like Bernini and Maderno influenced the architecture, while the ceiling is Pietro da Cortona's fresco 'Allegory of Divine Providence and Barberini Power.'  This 17th century gallery collects Italy's great artists from the 13th through the 16th century including Caravaggio, Raphael, and Perugino.

Visitors at the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica can venture over to the Museum Galleria Borghese to see more work from this period.  This art gallery was created in 1616, and the government procured the current collection in 1902.  The paintings that line the walls of the Museum Galleria Borghese were painted by greats like Bernini, Canova, and Raphael that are synonymous with classic art.

Travellers who want to end their tour of Roman art galleries should consider modern art museums like the Modern National Gallery.  This art gallery covers the gamut of artistic genres in the last two centuries including Romanticism, Impressionism, and Neo-classicism.  The Modern National Gallery has an extensive collection of sculptures and canvasses from Italian artists working in the 19th and 20th centuries.  Travellers interested in art throughout the European continent will not be disappointed as they glance at works from Goya, Duchamp, Money, van Gogh, and Renoir within the Modern National Gallery.