The Galleria Spada is located only a few footsteps from Piazza Farnese and Campo de Fiori Market, in the heart of old Rome. It is a part of the Palazzo Spada-Capodiferro, one of the most amazing Roman Renaissance buildings, showing on its facade a series of stucco sculptures representing Roman heroes and emperors. Its elegant inner courtyard is decorated with the Olympian gods and goddesses and with mythological scenes. The palace is the seat of the Italian State Council.

The Galleria is a perfect example of the 17th century Roman noble families collecting as well as being one of the most important international museums of Baroque painting. It is particularly fascinating because it preserves the same atmosphere of a private residence as when il was home to Cardinal Bernardino (1594 – 1661) and Cardinal Fabrizio Spada (1643-1717), who are mainly responsible for the collection.

In the timeless spirit of a Roman baroque “quadreria”, in four richly decorated rooms, you’ll find masterpieces by Guido Reni and Guercino, Orazio and Artemisia Gentileschi, Titian, Parmigianino and Jan Brueghel the Elder, as well as a remarkable collection of the main European Caravaggesque artists, such as Valentin de Boulogne, Trophime Bigot, Pieter van Laer and Hendrick van Somer.

The visit ends in the Giardino Segreto (secret garden), where architect Francesco Borromini built in 1653, for Cardinal Bernardino Spada, the Colonnata, or Perspective Gallery, an illusionistic masterpiece of Roman baroque.