Palazzo Colonna

Saturday mornings are your only chance to see this splendid gallery, completed in 1703 by Prince Filippo II Colonna whose descendants still live in the palace. The entrance leads to the Room of the Column, originally the throne room of Prince Filippo and his successors, who would have sat in state by the ancient column, back-lit by light shining through the window behind, and with a view across to a triumphal arch dedicated to Marcantonio Colonna, the family hero. The cannonball embedded in the stairs down to the Great Hall lies where it landed during the French siege of Rome on 24 June 1849. The mirrored hall may be the work of Gian Lorenzo Bernini, inspired by his visit to Versailles in 1665, while the immense frescoed ceiling pays tribute to Marcantonio, who led the papal fleet to victory against the Turks in the great naval battle of Lepanto in 1571. The gallery’s most famous and much-reproduced picture is Annibale Caracci’s earthy peasant Bean Eater. Private tours can be arranged of the gallery as well as the private apartments at other times during the week. When the weather permits the café on the pleasant terrace is worth a visit.