Picture Gallery of Doria - Pamphili

In the very center of Rome, along the street Corso 305 is an ancient building of gray color, exquisite architecture of the facade and impressive dimensions distinguish it from other not less beautiful. This is Palazzo Doria - Pamphili. At the beginning, this palace belonged to several cardinals, then became the property of the Aldobrandini family, and from the second half of the seventeenth century it passed into the possession of the most influential dynasty of Rome of the XVI and XVII centuries - Pamphili, later merged with the no less famous Doria family.

In the second half of the XVII century, Camillo Pamfili moved to this palace, leaving the old family residence on the square of Navona. This was due to Camillo incurring the wrath of his uncle, Pope Inocent X, and his mother, the domineering, treacherous woman Olivia Maidalkini. The cause of the family quarrel was the refusal of Camillo from the cardinal order, which promised a brilliant church career, and his unexpected marriage to the beautiful Olympia Aldobrandini, among her dowry was this famous palace.

The young family even had to spend some time away from Rome - in exile in Tuscany, but when the passions subsided, Camillo and Olympia returned to Rome and devoted their time to art, collecting paintings, ordering frescoes, building palaces and decoration.

Thus was born one of the richest private collections in the world. It contains paintings by Titian, Caravaggio, Raphael, Filippo Lippi, Lorenzo Lotto, Albrecht Durer, Claude Lorrain, Velazquez, and many others. There are even two busts of Bernini's work. There are eight canvases belonging to the Three Bruegels and two works by Jan Van Kessel the Elder – this is one of the largest collections of these masters in the world.

But the gallery is worth visiting not only because of the paintings. The Palace of Doria Pamphili is considered one of the most luxurious palaces of Rome, and here you can admire the rich ancient interiors, furniture and sculptures, recently restored, they have turned into a real pride of the famous dynasty.