Intimate Palaces to Suit Every Taste

Not all house museums in Rome are created equal. Some, like the Borghese and Doria Pamphilj galleries, are bigger, better known and better stocked than others. But for tourists, a higher profile can mean advance booking and steep ticket prices. Lesser-known museums are usually a cinch to get into and get through; most can be appreciated in an hour. Newly expanded hours (from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.) and entrance fees of just a few euros — even less with the recently started Roma Pass — can make finding a hitherto unseen Renaissance masterpiece all the easier.

At the Palazzo Barberini, for instance, the recently reopened first floor displays a substantial portion of the collections of National Gallery of Ancient Art, including works from the Barberini collection and other donors. The renovated space is cause for jubilation among art and architecture buffs. After years of a painfully slow restoration that had reduced the garden to a garbage dump and the museum to a one-room greatest-hits display, the palazzo — which was built beginning in 1625 for Francesco Barberini, nephew of Pope Urban VIII, by architects like Bernini and Borromini — once again has a gurgling fountain and shady palm trees welcoming visitors to its dramatically terraced entrance.