The Museo Barracco is a relatively small museum in Rome. Its collection consists mainly of antique works of art from different areas around the Mediterranean. its official name is Museo di Scultura Antica Giovanni Barracco.
Museo Barracco Rome
Address, opening hours and admission
Address: Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, 166a – Rome. Phone: +39 060608 (information number city of Rome). Admission: Free. Opening hours: From June to September from 13.00 till 19.00; from October till May from 10.00 till 16.00; December 24 and 31 from 09.00 till 14.00. Closed: Mondays, January 1, May 1, December 25.
History and description
Barracco was a nobleman who in 1902 donated his entire private sculpture collection to the museum, since he did not have relatives who could have inherited it after his death.
Initially the collection remained in Barracco‘s residence in the Via del Corso, but later it was moved to a small building in the Corso Vittorio Emanuele (across the road from the Church of Giovanni dei Fiorentini).
The present Museo Barracco is housed in a 16th century historical building, also on the Corso Vittorio Emanuele II. The palazzo is nicknamed Le Roy, or the Farnesina ai Baullari and was constructed after a design by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger. In the 18th century several floors were added, but in the 20th century the architect E. Guj remodeled the building in the original style.
The Barracco collection itself consists of 380 Egyptian, Assyrian, Cypriot, Greek, Etruscan and of course Roman works of art. In its entirety an overview is given of the Mediterranean art through the ages.
One of the highlights of the collection is a 7th century mosaic from the first Saint Peter’s Basilica.
Other interesting collections in the museum are the Barracco and the Pollak libraries.
The Museo Barracco was closed for several years, due to restoration work, but now its collection can be admired again.