Galleria Spada: a hidden gem in Rome
Rome's Galleria Spada hosts an exquisite art collection.
Galleria Spada, located in central Rome between Campo de' Fiori and the river Tiber, hosts a sumptuous art collection of works by 16th- and 17th-century masters.
The museum's four rooms contain paintings by artists such as Caravaggio, Guido Reni, Guercino, Orazio and Artemisia Gentileschi, Titian, Baciccia, Dürer, Jan Brueghel the Elder and Rubens.

Purchased in 1632 by Cardinal Spada, the palace's front façades were decorated with Mannerist stucco sculptures representing Roman heroes and emperors while its elegant inner courtyard was adorned with Olympian gods and goddesses and mythological scenes.

This stunning example of forced perspective – commissioned by Cardinal Spada – is centred around a magnificent colonnade whose diminishing rows of columns and rising floor level trick the eye into thinking the corridor is 37 metres long instead of its actual nine-metre length.

Palazzo Spada was purchased by Italy in 1927 and today houses the Italian Council of State.
The gallery is open 08.30-19.30, closed on Tuesday. Guided tours are available on prior booking in English and Italian, tel. 0632810. On Thurdays, entrance is via the nearby Via del Polverone 15/b.
For full visiting details see Galleria Spada website.
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Galleria Spada: a hidden gem in Rome
Piazza Capo di Ferro, 13, 00186 Roma RM, Italy