We recently returned from Rome for a totally intense weekend trip JUST to come to this museum to view one Caravaggio painting, never before on view to the public. The Portrait of Maffeo Barberini has been in a private collection for the last, essentially, 400 years, and hasn’t been seen by anyone alive apart from the folks who own it and those who know them. Indeed, they hadn’t even allowed actual Caravaggio experts and scholars (let alone amateur enthusiasts like myself and my husband) to ever view the painting. For a short time, they lent the portrait to the Palazzo Barberini for public view. Check out my Worldwide Hunt for Caravaggio page for more on our Caravaggio obsession, and tap here for the Baroque Art Accessibility Consortium to help us on our quest to bring the love of baroque art to all!

I’m really excited to bring you this blog post as well, because the portrait will be on view for an additional four months than originally promised and advertised, during a massive Caravaggio exhibit that the museum is putting on over the next few months. Through July 6 of 2025, if you want to see a whole bunch of Caravaggio paintings in one place (from what I can tell, there will be at least 10 paintings), definitely come here. They will have some of our favorites including Martha and Mary Magdalene, St. Catherine of Alexandria, and The Taking of Christ, among others including Ecce Homo (is it real!?), recently discovered and usually on view at the Prado in Madrid. If you’re going to be in Rome during the first half of this year, perhaps for the Vatican’s 2025 Jubilee celebrations, you don’t want to skip Palazzo Barberini.

This museum has been undergoing renovations and updates for years, and when we visited in January of 2025, it was much different than when we were there in 2019. The ground floor is updated with a separate ticket office and very small gift shop, and there are gardens and a new cafe you can visit. Additionally, the galleries have all been rearranged as well, showing art more like a traditional gallery, rather than moving through random rooms of a large villa. I kind of loved the way it used to be, more romantic, like exploring a large house and discovering cool art and sculptures along the way, but the lighting now is much better, and the galleries make more sense.

The Palazzo Barberini is also called the Gallerie Nazionali di Arte Antica, and you can find it on a map under either of those names. Tickets for the museum cost 15 Euro, but kids under 18 are free. You also get to visit The Palazzo Corsini as well with the same ticket. Under normal circumstances, you do not need to book in advance. This past trip, as well as in 2019, there were not a lot of folks visiting this museum, and we walked right up to the desk and got tickets for the day. For the Caravaggio exhibit this year, the charge is 25 Euros to enter the Palazzo Barberini and see the the exhibit. For that, I would highly recommend prebooking your ticket. First Sundays of the month are free, but they recommend that you prebook your ticket for entry on those dates as well.

I’m sure the four Caravaggio paintings normally housed at the Palazzo Barberini will also be part of this exhibit, but even without the exhibit, it was thrilling to see these paintings all together. Brian’s favorite Caravaggio painting, Judith Beheading Holofernes lives here full time. This visceral and dramatic painting is easily one of Caravaggio’s most famous, and probably one of his best as well.

We also got to view Narcissus, which was out on loan the last time we visited in 2019. I love the teal color of his pants, and the obsessive gaze of the boy staring at his own reflection. Plus, look at the striking folds of his silky shirt!

The cream to our visit, though, was being able to view the Portrait of Maffeo Barberini, hidden for 400 years until now! This portrait was set all by itself in a very dark room, allowing for the colors of the future Pope’s face and the greens of his robes to really pop. There was an excellent write up and description of the history of the painting as well as why it’s so interesting. I particularly like the look on his face with almost a Mona Lisa – like smile. What is he looking at over there, causing this interesting gaze? It was really special to view this portrait, and made the crazy weekend trip worth it!

Note that there is now a lovely cafe here at the Palazzo Barberini, where you can get refreshments, drinks, coffee, or even a full meal. The setting is within a garden, and the cafe looks like a greenhouse. It’s very bright and inviting, and a great place to stop and reflect on the amazing art you just witnessed in the main palazzo.

There are a lot of Caravaggios in Rome, and a lot of different places to view them. The great thing about museums like this one, as well as the Borghese Gallery and the Doria-Pamphilij Gallery is that there are way fewer people around, so you don’t have to beat the crowds like in the (free) churches to view his masterpieces. If you’re planning to go to Rome this year, and especially until July, do not skip this museum and the Caravaggio exhibit. Even if you won’t be here for the special exhibit, seeing the Palazzo Barberini’s four undisputed Caravaggio paintings is reason enough for a visit.