Palazzo Colonna

Palazzo Colonna stands on the southern slope of the Quirinal Hill in Rome, directly adjoining the Basilica dei Santi Apostoli. It has been the private residence of the Colonna family for more than twenty generations, making it one of the oldest continuously inhabited aristocratic palaces in the city. The centrepiece of any visit is the Great Gallery, a sequence of interconnected halls commissioned in the late seventeenth century to celebrate Marcantonio II Colonna's victory at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. Ceiling frescoes by Giovanni Coli and Filippo Gherardi sweep across the vaulted spaces, while the floors are inlaid with ancient marble fragments recovered from Roman ruins.

The Colonna Gallery houses an exceptional collection of paintings, sculpture, and decorative arts accumulated by the family across several centuries. Works by Annibale Carracci, Guido Reni, and Tintoretto hang alongside portraits of Colonna cardinals and princes. Because the palace remains a family home, the collection retains an intimacy that larger state museums rarely achieve. The Gallery is currently open to visitors as the principal experience on offer at this singular Roman address.