The Best Guide

A treasure horde of art and history under one roof

If you are visiting Rome some time in the near future and you are an art lover than you have four months at your disposal to be in the right place and time as Palazzo Farnese opens its doors to the public between today and April 27, next year.

Photos: Tiziana Fabi/AFP The renaissance palace is normally difficult to access but the French Embassy in Rome will open the Palazzo Farnese as part of its 50th anniversary.

Consequently the exhibition entitled Palazzo Farnese – From the Renaissance to the French Embassy is giving an opportunity to the public to visit a monumental renaissance palace and to delve into the history of the place since the sixteenth century, when it was the home of the aristocratic Farnese family, to the present as it houses the French embassy in Italy.

A sculpture is displayed during the “Palazzo Farnese. Collections from the Renaissance to the French Embassy” exhibition at the Farnese palace, the French embassy to Italy in Rome. The exhibition, running from today to April 27, 2011 will show some 150 works exploring the palace’s history from the 16th century to the present day, in which time it’s gone from the home of the Renaissance’s Farnese family to the French Embassy in Italy. The palazzo, widely regarded as Rome’s most influential High-Renaissance Palace faces a piazza bearing its name and is located in Campo dei Fiori.

During the four-month exhibition people will have the occasion to admire and appreciate some 150 monumental works of historical and artistic interest including statues, paintings, tapestries, ceramics, drawings, books and jewellery – chosen according to Renaissance ideals of culture and art, all bringing to life more than 500 years of the building’s history.

The Farnese family is now extinct, but the collection on display brings it back to life as works of art from Italian and French museums (including the Louvre) and other European and American institutions take the visitor through displays of rare materials conveniently amassed under one roof.

On this one-off exclusive event the magnificent Palazzo Farnese, with a monumental façade involving the golden touch of renaissance master Michelangelo, is offering an impressive collection – an occasion surely not to be missed by those who appreciate historical masterpieces being passed on to posterity.

Author: Alexander Francalanza | Source: Times of Malta [December 17, 2010]