europe

Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, Rome

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Today a wonderful ancient art collection is housed in this fine palazzo and I visited it for the first time recently. Wow! I wish I hadn’t waited so long. And it is so close to Stazione Termini there is absolutely no excuse for missing it!

Within the next couple of weeks, I’m going to be writing about some of the incredible ancient artworks in this collection. In fact, I posted the first of many yesterday: https://getbacklauretta.com/2026/09/06/ancient-roman-fresco-boats-swimming-fish-on-the-tiber-river/

Inspired by the magnificent palaces of the 16th century, Palazzo Massimo was built between 1883 and 1887 by the Jesuit priest Massimiliano Massimo, based on a design by Camillo Pistrucci, to house the new Jesuit school.

In 1981, the palazzo was acquired by the Italian government to become one of the new sites for the National Roman Museum. A radical renovation of the building was entrusted to Costantino Dardi and the palazzo opened to the public in 1998.

Since then the curators have sought o interweave the various threads of the collections using a design based on chronology and theme. By referring to the contexts in which the artefacts were found, this creates the suggestion that different works are jumbled together following the model of the bustling displays of collectors of the 16th century.

Today, moving through the rooms of the Palazzo Massimo is like leafing through the pages of a wonderful book in stunning 3-D. Its four floors contain some of the greatest masterpieces of the entire artistic output of the Roman world: sculptures, reliefs, frescos, mosaics, stuccoes and sarcophagi, originating, like all of the treasures of the National Roman Museum, from excavations undertaken in Rome and the surrounding region from 1870 onwards.

The route of the visit begins with the theme of the portrait and its evolution, from exclusive use by the most illustrious citizens in the Archaic Period to the widespread use of portraits among freedmen, from portraits of Greek origin, such as those of Alexander the Great, to those of simple Roman citizens eager for self-celebration at the end of the Republic, like the Tivoli General, and new forms of portraiture linked to the birth of the Empire, such as Augustus dressed as the Pontifex Maximus.

Greek originals in marble, such as the Niobid from the Horti Sallustiani (Gardens of Sallust), and in bronze, including the Boxer at Rest and the Hellenistic Prince from the Baths of Constantine, are typical examples of the models of Greek art that came to Rome with the wars of conquest.

Continuing the history of portraits in the Imperial Age, the first floor displays the Roman taste marble copies of Greek ideal sculptures, like the Discobolus of Myron, presented in two well-known reproductions – the Lancellotti Discobolus and the Discobolus of Castel Porziano -, the Sleeping Hermaphroditus, the Aphrodite of Menophantos, and innumerable works depicting gods and mythological figures.

However, sculpture also became a means of expression for celebrating victories at the borders of the Empire, such as the monumental Portonaccio sarcophagus, and a method for paying tribute to the greatness of well-known figures in the society of the late Roman Empire, as can be seen from the Acilia and Annona Sarcophagi.

The second floor of the Palazzo is dedicated entirely to frescos, stuccoes and mosaics. One element that is fundamental in fully grasping the taste and aesthetic sense of the Roman aristocracy is the superb wall decorations of major archaeological complexes, such as the Villa di Livia in Prima Porta, the Villa Farnesina in Trastevere and the Villa di Termini.

The basement level offers a selection from the collections from the National Roman Museum’s Coin and Medal Collection and is dedicated to the economy and the use of money, interpreted through an exhibition of coins, jewellery, precious ornaments and documents relating to the daily cost of life.

Highly recommend multiple visits to this museum!

Alla prossima!

Podcast Episode #1: Rome Through Art And Flavor

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Pip: Rome in late spring, where even a nondescript building hides a courtyard full of sarcophagi, and the gelato is technically a health food.

Mara: blogger Lauretta Dimmick, who writes the blog Get Back Lauretta, has been moving through Rome at full tilt — palaces, piazzas, baroque staircases, fresh tuna, and a new pope making headlines. Let’s start with the streets and landmarks that frame the whole visit.

Rome Landmarks And Streets

Pip: Rome rewards the wanderer — the post “Rome! Endless variety” is essentially a love letter to the city’s capacity to surprise, block by block.

Mara: The line that stays with me: “Almost every day I see something that makes me say: I have never seen that before!”

Pip: That’s the whole premise, isn’t it — Rome as a place that keeps outpacing expectation, no matter how many times you’ve been.

Mara: Concretely, that means jasmine trained up the side of a villa, acanthus plants blooming just outside the Roman Forum — plants whose leaves appear on every Corinthian capital in the ancient city. The fit is almost too perfect.

Pip: And then a stop at Neve di Latte for natural gelato, though Francesco remained unconvinced it was worth the calories.

Mara: The Piazza di Spagna post rounds out the street-level picture with a video tour of one of Rome’s most iconic squares. From the piazza, we move indoors — deep indoors.

Palazzo Barberini And Baroque Splendor

Pip: Palazzo Barberini is the kind of place where even the staircase gets a superlative — and the post on part two makes the case directly.

Mara: The title itself is the argument: “The most lovely marble stairway ever? I think YES!” And embedded in those Doric columns are the Barberini bees, the family’s symbol, carved right into the stone.

Pip: The bee motif runs through everything — ceiling frescoes, ironwork, the whole building is essentially branded.

Mara: Part one slows down for the paintings, and the writing is genuinely attentive. On Fra Filippo Lippi’s Annunciation, it notes the transparent scarf wrapping Mary’s wrist: “to use it as a compositional element” leading the eye between Gabriel’s lily and the top of the canvas.

Pip: Noticing the servants on the hidden staircase rather than the kneeling donors — that’s a particular way of looking at art.

Mara: Part three closes the visit with Corradini’s famous statue and one last reminder: the bees appear “throughout the building — and indeed the city.” From baroque splendor to something more immediate — what’s on the table.

Food Coffee And Daily Pleasures

Pip: Two very different pleasures anchor this stretch — one philosophical, one extremely fresh.

Mara: The coffee post is almost aphoristic: “Coffee is the balm of the soul” — attributed to Giuseppe Verdi, found on the back of an espresso machine in Montecatini. That’s the whole post, and it lands.

Pip: Short, correct, no notes.

Mara: The tuna post is the opposite — vivid and specific. A fishmonger in Rome who “begged” them to buy an outstanding tuna, two enormous steaks, red shrimp, squid for calamari. The calamari, reportedly, was “quasi sweet” and unlike anything before. The only regret: no photos of the finished dishes. From the table, to something more public.

Papal Respect And Public Witness

Mara: Pope Leo XIV appears in the title of a post here — “Pope Leo XIV again shows what respect looks like” — framing a moment of public witness worth marking.

Pip: The word “again” is doing real work in that title. It implies a pattern, a posture, not just a single gesture.

Mara: And that consistency — the idea that respect is demonstrated repeatedly, not announced once — is what the post points toward.

Pip: Streets, staircases, espresso philosophy, and a pope setting a standard — Rome contains multitudes.

Mara: More of it next time, apparently. The sign-off is always “alla prossima” — until next time.