Galleria Spada (with kids)

A bit of a hidden gem. The art, some of it truly excellent, is crammed into four glorious rooms.

A fabulous gallery off the beaten path (if you can say that about a museum in the middle of Rome) that was basically empty when I was there—actually that’s a real joy in a city where you’re constantly battling crowds. Here in peace and quiet you can enjoy masterpieces by Orazio Gentillesci and Artimesia, his daughter, a mesmerizing portrait by Annibale Carracci, a great Solimena, several wonderful...

Galleria Spada is a small but excellent gallery, showcasing art from the Baroque era. Palazzo Spada was originally built in the mid-16th century and later purchased in 1632 by Cardinal Bernardino Spada, a man deeply engaged with art and science. Works by artists such as Artemisia Gentileschi, Tiziano, Brueghel, Guercino, Orazio Gentileschi, and Reni are displayed in richly decorated rooms. There ...

I sincerely found the ticket price steep, to visit only 4 rooms (ca. 200 pieces, no show-stoppers at all), where lighting leaves A LOT to be desired, a mere 9 seats are offered to visitors (2 already occupied by personnel), whereas the rooms include many dozens of seats that cannot be used. Nice charts naming artists of the collection. However, you are actually here to see Borromini's "Perspective...

Went on the first Sunday of the month which got us free entry to the gallery and the garden with Francesco Borromini’s forced perspective piece. The gallery itself is a work of art with painted scenes on the ceilings, wonderfully carved gilded tables, and other Baroque furniture. The gallery consists of only a few rooms full of paintings and some sculptures, and the garden; for us this was a perfe...