Here is the list with the best Museums in Rome selectioned by Tour Guide Erik.
Galleria Borghese
is a Jewel rich of Art and Masterpieces, located in the Borghese Park, just outside the ancient city walls. It hosts the greatest collection of Baroque statues by Bernini and Caravaggios paintings. Other Masterpieces are Paolina Borghese by Canova, some paintings by Raphael, Titian, Correggio and Domenichino. The museums is not so big and is suitable for all different ages.
Vatican Museums
It is the biggest museum Complex in the World. The Museums are divided in 10 sections such as the Egyptian, Etruscan, Cristian Museums, the Painting Gallery, the Popal Apartments and a lot more. At the end of the Galleries you can admire the Sistine Chapel and Raphael's Rooms. Not recommended for children and seniors. Avoid high season and festivities.
Musei Capitolini
It is considered the first Public Museum of the history. Pope Sixtus IV, the same who inaugurated the Sistine Chapel, donated to the people a collection of statues among which the shewolf and Marcus Aurelius on the bronze horse. Not to miss also Marforio, a colossal statue of Constantine, the Bruto Capitolino, the Medusa by Bernini and the painting Gallery. From the museum you have also a stunning view over the Roman Forum. Another section of the Capitoline Museum is located on the Via Ostiense and is housed in an ancient Power Plant.
Nazionale Romano
is organized in 4 museums: Palazzo Massimo, Thermal Baths of Diocletian near the Termini Train Station, Palazzo Altemps and Crypta Balbi. Here are on display masterpieces of Classical Statuary such as the Boxer, the Discobolus, Augustus as Pontifex Maximus, the frescoes from Livias Villa.
Villa Farnesina
is a Jem of Renaissance style located in the lively district of Trastevere. The architecture was designed by Baldassarre Peruzzi whereas the frescoes were made by Raphael and his pupils. Both artists are buried in the Pantheon, the perfect Masterpiece of Classical Architecture.
Barberini Museum
houses a great collection of paintings among which Masterpieces by Titian, Caravaggio and Poussin. In the Barberini Palace you can also enjoy the Staircases made by Bernini and Borromini and the great Fresco on the ceiling by Pietro da Cortona showing the Power that the Popes had at that time. The fresco on the ceiling the Divine Providence can be considered the highest point of Baroque Art in painting in Rome.
GNAM National Gallery of Modern Art
hosts a great collection of Modern Art from Impressionism (Van Gogh, Cezanne and Monet) through Neoclassical Statuary (Canova) to modern painting (Modigliani, Klimt, De Chirico, Kandinsky and Mondrian). It is housed in the Palace located on the Via delle belle Arti near the Villa Borghese.
Galleria Doria Pamphili
is housed in the Palazzo Pamphili on the Via del Corso, where the family Doria Pamphili still lives after 400 years. The gallery is rich with Masterpieces by Raphael, Titian, Caravaggio, Velazquez and Bernini.
Galleria Colonna
is open every saturday morning from 8,30 am to 1 pm. The palace Colonna is one of the oldest Renaissance Palace in Rome and was commissioned by Martino V Colonna at the beginning of the 15th century. One of the most interesting painting is for sure the Bean Eater by Annibale Carracci.
Galleria Spada
is housed in the Palazzo Spada very near Farnese Palace, via Giulia and Campo dei Fiori. The collection is personally nothing special but the architecture of the Palace by Borromini is stunning. On the facade are statues of important Romans from the Republic and the Empire. In the palace is also the statue of Pompeus, at the base of which was killed Julius Cesar on the Ides of March 44 BC. The prospective Gallery by Borromini is the most interesting Highlight in the Museum and is a Jewel of Baroque optical illusion and Trompe l'Oeil.
The Etruscan Museum at Villa Giulia
is the most important Etruscan Museum in the World. Masterpieces are the Sarcophagus of the Spouses, the Apollo from Veio and the golden Tablets from Pirgy. Thanks to these tablets the Etruscan Alphabet has been understood.
Maxxi
is a Masterpiece of contemporary Architecture designed by the great architect Zaha Hadid, who past away a few years ago. On display are collections of contemporary Painting, Architecture and fotography.
