AUR 1920 x 116
AUR 1920 x 116
AUR 1920 x 116
Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia

Museo Napoleonico in Rome

The Napoleonic Museum of Rome preserves Napoleonic objects and souvenirs, mainly from the collection of Count Giuseppe Primoli, descendant of the Bonaparte family, who donated them to the city of Rome in 1927. 

On display in the family palace, this collection includes art works and  souvenirs. It is intended more as a discovery of the family history than an exhibition.

The Palazzo Primoli, which was built in the 16th century, was significantly modified at the beginning of the 20th century.

The museum collections are divided into three sections, covering three periods:

  • The so-called Napoleonic period, with large paintings, busts of the great artists of the time
  • What extends from the fall of Napoleon to the rise of Napoleon III
  • The Empire

The Napoleonic Museum is on the ground floor of Palazzo Primoli, whose construction dates back to the 16th century. It belonged to the Godefroy family, then to the Filonardi family at the end of the 18th century, and was purchased by Count Luigi Primoli around 1828.

During important transformations of the area, with the construction of the banks of the Tiber, the renovation of the building was entrusted to the architect Raffaele Ojetti.

The old façade on Piazza Orso was demolished and a building was erected on the corner of the new Via Zanardelli, with a monumental entrance and a new façade in Piazza di Ponte Umberto.

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Giuseppe Primoli donated the ground floor to the city in 1927 to house the Napoleonic collections in the city of Rome. There are painted ceilings from the 18th century and friezes along the walls from the early 19th century. The friezes in rooms III and V, including the Primoli "lion" and Bonaparte's "eagle", were made after Pietro Primoli's marriage to Charlotte Bonaparte in 1848.

The building also houses the Primoli Foundation and its library, composed of over thirty thousand volumes of literature, history and art.

Since June 1995, the third floor houses the Mario Praz Museum, belonging to the National Gallery of Modern Art, with over a thousand works from the late 18th century to the first half of the 19th century.

Paintings, sculptures and jewellery related to Napoleon and the Bonaparte family. 09.00-19.00. Mon closed. Guided tours in Italian and English. €3.

General Info

Address Museo Napoleonico, Piazza di Ponte Umberto I, Rome, Metropolitan City of Rome, Italy

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Museo Napoleonico in Rome

Museo Napoleonico, Piazza di Ponte Umberto I, Rome, Metropolitan City of Rome, Italy

Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia
Acorn P H3 - 1920 x 190
Acorn P H3 - 1920 x 190
Acorn P H3 - 1920 x 190
Castelli H3 - 320 x 480
Castelli H3 - 320 x 480
Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia