On our daily journey we continue to discover the stories and curiosities of Rome and Lazio. Today we are in the capital of Italy and we are talking about a building that perhaps not everyone knows, just a few steps from Via del Corso. It’s about Palazzo Doria Pamphilj. Because of its peculiarity and beauty, it is also called “The Versailles of Rome”.
Villa Doria Pamphilj, new act of vandalism: another toponymic memorial plaque was destroyed
A bit of history
Before we get into today’s focus, as always, a little history. We refer to the official tourist website of the Municipality of Rome. The Doria Pamphilj Gallery is located in the palace of the same name, the architectural result of developments, annexations and expansions over the course of five hundred years, which initially belonged to the palace Della Roverewhich became the family’s property in 1601 Aldobrandini and then from 1647 Pamphiljfor the wedding of Olimpia Aldobrandini and Camillo Pamphilj.
Courtyard of the Palazzo Doria Pamphilj
In 1651, Giambattista Pamphilj, who ascended the papal throne under the name Innocent X (1644-1655), founded the gallery there. The direct line of the Pamphiljs was replaced by the Pamphiljs branch in 1760 Doria Pamphilj.
In the gallery, the arrangement of the paintings, distributed across four arms, follows the indications in an 18th-century document in which the exact location of each work is indicated based on a criterion of symmetry and sometimes typological and stylistic affinities.
Courtyard of the Palazzo Doria Pamphilj
All paintings from the Doria Pamphilj gallery
Palazzo Doria Pamphilj It has housed a private collection that is unique in the world for centuries. Not only are the quality and value of these masterpieces amazing, but also their number: there are so many works that they completely cover the walls of the reception rooms, the wings of the magnificent gallery and the private apartments. It would have been impossible to describe the entire collection in detail here. We therefore propose a selection of the greatest masterpieces exhibited at the Palazzo Doria Pamphilj
There are paintings by Raffaello (“Portrait of Andrea Navagero”), Titian (“Salome with the head of St. John the Baptist”), Domenichino (“Susanna and the Old Men”) Parmesan cheese (“Madonna with child and manger”), Caravaggio (“Rest on the Flight into Egypt” and “John the Baptist, Magdalene”), Hannibal And Ludovico Carracci (“Satyr and Shepherd”, “Madonna and Child” and “St. Sebastian”), Mattia Preti (“Penitent Magdalene”, “John the Baptist”, “Christ led up the Holy Stairs”), Guercino (“Erminia Finds the Wounded Tancred”, “Allegory of Spring”, “Return of the Prodigal Son”, “Saint Joseph”), Guido Reni (“Madonna Adoring the Child”, “Penitent Peter”, “Sacred and Profane Love”), Velazquez (“Portrait of Innocent X.”), Brueghel the Elder (“Landscapes”), Gaspard Dughet (“Landscapes”).
Caravaggio, Rest on the Flight into Egypt
They are also on display ancient sculptures and the 17th centuryincluding some Sarcophagi and bustslike the two from Innocent Gian Lorenzo Bernini And Alessandro Algardi. Remarkable i four tapestries 16th century Brussels factory depicting the preliminary and final phases of the Battle of Lepanto.
In addition to Italian artists known all over the world, we can mention here Caravaggio, Titian, Raffaello, Carracci And Berniniare also counted Flemish masters from the Baroque period, a true flagship of the Doria Pamphilj collection, the French painter Lorraine Landscape specialist and the most representative Spanish artist of the Baroque period Diego Velazquez.
Did you know that there are other Doria Pamphilj Palaces?
The palace should not be confused with the Pamphilj Palace, which is also located in Rome in Piazza Navona and should not even be confused with another Doria Pamphili Palace, which is part of a complex designed and built by the Pamphili family in Valmontone, near Rome; This palace was badly damaged during World War II and was later restored with its late Baroque frescoes by Francesco Cozza, Pier Francesco Mola and Mattia Preti. A third Doria Pamphilj palace is located at San Martino al Cimino, near Viterbo.
Palazzo Pamphilj in Piazza Navona, Rome