Fodor's Expert Review Palazzo Doria Pamphilj
Like the Palazzo Colonna and the Galleria Borghese, this dazzling 15th-century palace provides a fantastic glimpse of aristocratic Rome. It passed through several hands before becoming the property of the Pamphilj family, who married into the famous seafaring Doria family of Genoa in the 18th century. The family still lives in part of the palace.
The understated beauty of the graceful facade, designed by Gabriele Valvassori in 1730 and best admired from the opposite side of the street, barely hints at the interior's opulent halls and gilded galleries, which are filled with Old Master works. The 550 paintings here include three by Caravaggio: St. John the Baptist, Mary Magdalene, and the breathtaking Rest on the Flight to Egypt. Off the eye-popping Galleria degli Specchi (Gallery of Mirrors)—a smaller version of the one at Versailles—are the famous Velázquez Pope Innocent X, considered by some historians to be the greatest portrait ever painted, and the... READ MORE
Like the Palazzo Colonna and the Galleria Borghese, this dazzling 15th-century palace provides a fantastic glimpse of aristocratic Rome. It passed through several hands before becoming the property of the Pamphilj family, who married into the famous seafaring Doria family of Genoa in the 18th century. The family still lives in part of the palace.
The understated beauty of the graceful facade, designed by Gabriele Valvassori in 1730 and best admired from the opposite side of the street, barely hints at the interior's opulent halls and gilded galleries, which are filled with Old Master works. The 550 paintings here include three by Caravaggio: St. John the Baptist, Mary Magdalene, and the breathtaking Rest on the Flight to Egypt. Off the eye-popping Galleria degli Specchi (Gallery of Mirrors)—a smaller version of the one at Versailles—are the famous Velázquez Pope Innocent X, considered by some historians to be the greatest portrait ever painted, and the Bernini bust of the same Pamphilj pope.
A delightful audio guide is included in the ticket price and is narrated by the current heir, Prince Jonathan Doria Pamphilj, who divulges intimate family history. Plan to stay for lunch, or at least pause for a coffee, at the fashionable Caffè Doria, with elegant tables set out in the palace's peaceful cloisters.
READ LESS
