Vittoriano
Rome, February 6, 2025 - The VIVE-Vittoriano and Palazzo Venezia, under the direction of Edith Gabrielli, is promoting a program of free guided tours of the restoration site of the Barbo Apartment, built at the commission of Venetian Cardinal Pietro Barbo, who became Pope Paul II.
The seven oldest rooms of Palazzo Venezia - located on the first floor facing Piazza Venezia - in which Cardinal Barbo's famous collection of glyptics, numismatics, and goldsmithing, among other things, was housed, will be revealed to the public in all the splendor of their decorative details thanks to the guidance of expert operators, allowing visitors to experience Italian excellence in the restoration sector.
In fact, as part of the works for the construction of the new Venezia Station of Line C of the Rome Underground, the structural consolidation of Palazzo Venezia and, at the same time, the restoration of the Barbo Apartment, an authentic Renaissance jewel, is underway.
The restoration work carried out in line with the Ministry of Culture's methodological directives, is aimed at guaranteeing the conservation of the decorative apparatuses (ceilings, floors, and wall paintings) which, over time, have undergone numerous maintenance and restoration operations related to the changing uses of the rooms.
The works in the Barbo Flat are the first phase of a larger intervention that will involve, in the coming months, other rooms on the piano nobile of Palazzo Venezia, including the Monumental Rooms: the Sala del Mappamondo, the Sala Regia and the Sala delle Battaglie.
In full respect of the continuous and fruitful dialogue that the VIVE - Vittoriano e Palazzo Venezia has always had with its community, the restoration site has been conceived as an ‘open’ building site. In this way, citizens and tourists will be able to take part in the guided tours organized on the site itself, talking with the operators and discovering from an absolutely new point of view a heritage that is unique in the world.
Visits to the Barbo Apartment will begin on Saturday 8 February - starting at 10.00 a.m. with 4 tour shifts and for a maximum of 8 people each - and will continue until June every month.
On the occasion of the first visit, it will be possible to admire the terracotta and majolica floors of some of the rooms in the Apartment as well as the painted wooden ceilings and wall friezes in the Sala del Pappagallo - whose name recalls the parrot of Pope Paul II, an exotic animal that was quite rare and expensive at the time - used by the Pope, together with the Room of the Labours of Hercules, to receive his most trusted guests. In this Hall, climbing up the scaffolding, visitors will be able to observe the beauty of the decorations from a completely new perspective.
Following 8 February, the calendar continues with visits to the Sala dei Paramenti - from the vestments of Pope Paul II - or the Sala delle Fatiche di Ercole (15 March), and to the Monumental Rooms: the Sala del Mappamondo (12 April) and the Sala Regia (17 May and 21 June) with compulsory booking.
The visit on Saturday 8 February - scheduled to take place in 4 shifts, at 10 a.m., 11.30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. - is free of charge and is reserved for a maximum of 8 people per shift by making a reservation by sending a request to: vi-ve.edu@cultura.gov.it
To climb the scaffolding, participants will be asked to wear the safety shoes provided by the Institute at the start of the visit.
Comfortable clothing is required.
The visits to the Barbo Apartment will continue according to the following schedule:
Saturday 15 March 2025 - Sala delle Fatiche di Ercole or Sala dei Paramenti
Saturday 12 April 2025 - Sala del Mappamondo
Saturday 17 May 2025 - Sala Regia
Saturday 21 June 2025 - Sala Regia
The above-mentioned visits are scheduled in 4 shifts: at 10 a.m., 11.30 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m. for a maximum of 8 people per shift.
For information
https://vive.cultura.gov.it/it/
