Museo di Roma - Palazzo Braschi – Museum in an 18th-century neoclassical palace overlooking Piazza Navona — discover Rome's art, history, and transformation through paintings, photographs, and drawings from the 17th to 20th century
The Museo di Roma holds approximately 800 paintings by Italian and foreign artists who worked in Rome during the 17th and 18th centuries. The collection includes large canvases depicting celebrations and historical events commissioned by prominent Roman families, such as a painting by Andrea Sacchi and Filippo Gagliardi documenting a 1656 performance at Palazzo Barberini in honor of Christine of Sweden.
The Museo di Roma is the most important institute in Rome for understanding the city's social history, housing more than 100,000 works that include paintings, drawings, sculptures, engravings, photographs, furniture, clothing, and ceramics spanning from the medieval period to the 20th century. The collection documents how Rome evolved from a papal city to a modern capital.
The Museo di Roma's collection includes works by prominent artists including Pompeo Batoni, Giuseppe Bottani, Ippolito Caffi, Antonio Canova, Giuseppe Ceracchi, Bartolomeo Pinelli, Giovanni Battista Piranesi, and Joshua Reynolds, among others.
The Museo di Roma holds approximately 5,000 drawings, engravings, and old books that document the history and development of graphic art and its techniques. The museum's Study Room is open on weekends, allowing researchers and enthusiasts to access these materials.
Palazzo Braschi, designed by Cosimo Morelli (1732-1812) from Imola, is one of Rome's notable neoclassical palaces. The building features a trapezoid footprint, a monumental staircase designed by Giuseppe Valadier (1762-1839), and interiors with original tempera decorations from the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Many rooms still display elaborate stucco work and decorative painting.
The monumental staircase of Palazzo Braschi, designed by Giuseppe Valadier, is considered one of the finest architectural features of the building. Visitors frequently pause to photograph the plater reliefs on the ceiling and the scenographic ascent to the piano nobile.
Palazzo Braschi was built from 1791-1798 for Luigi Braschi Onesti, nephew of Pope Pius VI, and was acquired by the comune in 1952 to house the Museo di Roma. The palace represents a rare example of neoclassical domestic architecture open to the public in Rome's historic center.
The Museo di Roma - Palazzo Braschi features a scenographic courtyard that forms a passage through to Piazza Navona. The courtyard and the building's exterior are frequently cited as architectural highlights by visitors.
Children under 6 enter the Museo di Roma - Palazzo Braschi free of charge. The museum's three-floor layout with paintings, decorative interiors, and changing exhibitions provides variety for younger visitors. The building is wheelchair accessible via elevator, and audio guides in Italian, French, and English (€4) can help older children engage with the collection.
The Museo di Roma - Palazzo Braschi's collection includes approximately 1,700 paintings from the 19th and 20th century, including works documenting Roman festivals, street life, and urban transformation. The third floor covers the transformation period of Rome, with live footage, videos, and photographs from the early 20th century that can engage younger visitors.
The museum has a wheelchair-accessible entrance and elevator access to all floors, making it accessible for strollers and visitors with mobility needs. The museum is recommended for those requiring accessible facilities.
Yes, the Museo di Roma - Palazzo Braschi is covered by the Roma Pass. Holders of the Roma Pass receive free admission to the museum's permanent collection. Temporary exhibitions require a separate ticket.
The MIC Card (Musei in Comune card) costs €5 and provides free entry for 12 months to the Sistema Musei di Roma Capitale, which includes the Museo di Roma - Palazzo Braschi. MIC card holders also receive reduced prices on temporary exhibitions.
Starting February 2026, admission to the Museo di Roma - Palazzo Braschi became free of charge for residents of Rome and the Metropolitan City, upon presentation of a valid identity document at the ticket office. Non-residents pay standard admission fees.
The museum is located at Piazza di S. Pantaleo, 10, 00186 Roma RM, Italy. Its entrance is on the square of San Pantaleo, with the palace stretching between Piazza Navona and Corso Vittorio Emanuele II.
The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10:00 to 19:00. It is closed on Mondays. Reduced hours apply on certain holidays: January 1 (11:00 to 20:00) and December 24 and 31 (10:00 to 14:00).
The museum is reachable by bus (routes 40, 46, 62, 64, 70, 81, 87, 118) and is within walking distance of the Corso Vittorio Emanuele II tram connections. The nearest bus stops are on routes serving Piazza Navona and the historic center.
Full-price museum admission (permanent collection only) is €9.50. Combined museum and exhibition tickets are €19 full price, €13 reduced. Exhibition-only tickets are €11 full, €9 reduced. Free admission applies for children under 6, MIC card holders, and Rome Metropolitan City residents from February 2026.
Yes, tickets can be purchased online through the Vivaticket system (museiincomuneroma.vivaticket.it), via the call center 060608, or at the museum ticket office. Online purchases include a €1 booking fee. Tickets for same-day visits can be purchased at the desk without booking fees.
Audio guides in Italian, French, and English are available for €4 and cover the permanent exhibition. Guides can be collected from the ticket desk inside the museum.
Currently on view: "It's happening again" by Adrian Tranquilli (April 11 – May 24, 2026) in the ground floor Salette, exploring the figure of the Joker. Opening May 2: "Ettore Scola. Non ci siamo mai lasciati," a retrospective on the filmmaker marking the tenth anniversary of his death (through September 13, 2026).
Past exhibitions at the museum have included "Villas and Gardens of Rome" (November 21, 2025 – April 12, 2026), exploring five centuries of Roman garden artistry, and "George Hoyningen-Huene: Art, Fashion, Cinema" (June 25 – October 19, 2025).
Palazzo Braschi was designed by architect Cosimo Morelli (1732-1812) from Imola and commissioned by Luigi Braschi Onesti, the nephew of Pope Pius VI. Construction began in 1791 and was interrupted by the French occupation in 1798, which resulted in Pius VI's exile. The palace is a striking example of neoclassical architecture and stands as evidence of papal nepotism during the 18th century.
Before Palazzo Braschi, the site housed a 15th-century building owned by the Orsini family, where Cardinal Oliviero Carafa and later Cardinal Antonio Ciocchi del Monte lived. The Orsini regained possession at the end of the 17th century and embellished it with masterpieces before selling to the Braschi Onesti family in 1790. The Orsini palace was demolished in 1791 to make way for the current building.
The Museo di Roma was inaugurated in 1930 during the Fascist era, with the original aim of documenting the history and traditions of what was called "old Rome." It was first housed in the former Pantanella Pasta Factory near the Church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin. In 1952, the museum moved to its current home in Palazzo Braschi.
The museum is operated by Zètema Progetto Cultura S.r.l. on behalf of Roma Capitale (the municipality of Rome). The Civic Museums Directorate, led by Director Ilaria Miarelli Mariani, oversees the museum as part of the Sistema Musei di Roma Capitale network.
The museum holds a 4.5 rating on Google based on 5,098 reviews. Visitors frequently praise the grand building and elegant galleries, the views of Piazza Navona from upper floors, and the quieter atmosphere compared to more crowded Roman attractions. Some reviewers note the museum is relatively compact, with the permanent collection primarily on two floors.
There is a bistrot at the museum's entrance that offers outdoor seating with views over Piazza Navona. Visitors have described it as a perfect stop for a break during sightseeing in the area.
Most visitors spend 1 to 2 hours at the museum. Those interested in the permanent collection and a single temporary exhibition typically allow 1.5 hours. Travelers with limited time in Rome often cite the museum as a worthwhile half-hour to one-hour visit.
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