Galleria Spada

About the museum

The Galleria Spada is housed in the 16th-century Palazzo Capodiferro. The collection was born in the seventeenth century, mainly thanks to Cardinal Bernardino Spada (1594–1661), who moved to Rome in 1631 after important political and administrative posts at the French court and in Bologna. To preserve his collections he extended the palace on the side facing via Giulia; the collection was later enlarged by his great-nephew, Cardinal Fabrizio Spada (1643–1717), and by other groups of paintings brought as dowry by wives of the Spada family.

In the nineteenth century the Spada princes protected the collection with an entail (fedecommesso) to prevent its dispersal. It has thus reached us as an expression of a family's history and as a panorama of Baroque art: the works are still hung in superimposed rows, as in a seventeenth-century picture gallery, in the four first-floor rooms overlooking the Giardino Grande, together with a collection of archaeological works.

The route ends in the Giardino Segreto with the Prospettiva, or Colonnata, built in 1653 by Francesco Borromini for Cardinal Bernardino Spada, with the calculations provided by the Augustinian friar Giovanni Maria da Bitonto. It is one of the greatest examples of Baroque illusionism: the short gallery appears much longer than it is. In the mid-nineteenth century Prince Clemente Spada had a statue of a warrior added, in fact of very small dimensions.

Highlights

• Baroque picture gallery of Cardinals Bernardino and Fabrizio Spada in four rooms
• Prospettiva (Colonnata) by Francesco Borromini, 1653
• Giardino Segreto
• Decorated facade of the Palazzo Capodiferro and the Cortile degli Stucchi
• Collection of archaeological works displayed in the ancient style

Permanent exhibitions

• Quadreria barocca dei cardinali Spada – Four first-floor rooms with seventeenth-century paintings hung in superimposed rows, and a collection of archaeological works.
• La Prospettiva di Borromini – The illusionistic colonnade of 1653 in the Giardino Segreto, which appears much longer than its real size.

Founded

1927

Operated by

Ministero della Cultura

Visitors per year

approx. 52,345

Admission & discounts

Free admission: First Sunday of the month, 8:30–19:30 (without bookings, guided tours and groups; tickets are collected only on site).

Tickets are bought on museiitaliani.it (except on the free first Sunday of the month); individual visitors are not required to book. Free admission and reductions are listed on the Ministry of Culture's website (cultura.gov.it/agevolazioni).

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The square, Cortile degli Stucchi, Giardino Grande, bookshop (with ramp) and Giardino Segreto (with ramp) are accessible by wheelchair. The first-floor rooms are reached by an ancient spiral staircase; there is a small lift, but to reach it you must climb a few steps. If a person cannot walk at all and the wheelchair cannot be folded, the accessible route is the Giardino Segreto. For blind and partially sighted visitors a sensory tour with tactile panels, objects and sounds is available, by compulsory booking (not on Tuesdays).

Kids & families

• Family tours & workshops

On the occasion of the Giornata FAMU (Famiglie al Museo) an activity for families is offered.

Getting there & parking

On foot from Piazza Campo de' Fiori: via dei Balestrari for about 100 metres, then left as far as Piazza Capodiferro, opposite the palace.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

Bookshop with ramp access.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit