Hidden among the alleys connecting the Trevi Fountain and Via del Corso, the Galleria Sciarra is an Art Nouveau masterpiece, a cultural experiment born from the synergy between Prince Maffeo Barberini Colonna di Sciarra, the painter Giuseppe Cellini, and the poet Gabriele D’Annunzio.
Built between 1885 and 1888 by architect Giulio De Angelis for Prince Maffeo Barberini Colonna di Sciarra, the Galleria was originally designed as a private courtyard to connect the family’s various palaces and house the editorial offices of various media outlets.
The Prince, in addition to his political activity as a member of Parliament for the Kingdom of Italy, was a publishing entrepreneur. Galleria Sciarra also housed the editorial offices of the newspaper La Tribuna and, later, the famous literary magazine Cronaca Bizantina, edited by Gabriele D’Annunzio.
One must make one’s life as one makes a work of art. The life of a man of intellect must be his own work. True superiority lies here. (Il Piacere, Gabriele D’Annunzio, 1889)
The Gallery’s main focus is on the works of Giuseppe Cellini, the painter who transformed its walls into a visual poem dedicated to the female figure, a tribute to beauty as the supreme form of spiritual elevation and aesthetic pleasure, as well as to the prince’s mother, Carolina Colonna Sciarra.
The pictorial cycle, entitled “The Glorification of Woman”, is divided into two main registers:
– The Feminine Virtues: the upper register depicts women who embody the values of the era: Modesty, Fidelity, Mercy, and Strength.
– Scenes of Daily Life: the lower register becomes more mundane and intimate, showing women in domestic and social contexts: from gardening to banquets, from sewing to childcare.
Cellini was a close collaborator of D’Annunzio, illustrating the Cronaca Bizantina and the deluxe edition of Isaotta Guttadauro, D’Annunzio’s 1886 collection of poems.
Crowning the marvel of the Galleria Sciarra, an elegant iron and glass structure allows natural light to flood the frescoes from above, creating refraction effects that change with the time of day.
The Secret
The Cronaca Bizantina magazine closed in March 1886, while La Tribuna, under the ownership of Prince Sciarra and the editorship of Luigi Roux, became Rome’s best-selling newspaper. However, the headquarters were moved from the Galleria following the financial failure of Prince Maffeo Sciarra around 1896.
Useful Info
Galleria Sciarra
Via Marco Minghetti 10 (Ingresso anche da Piazza dell’Oratorio)
00187 Roma
Open weekdays during office hours, usually 9am-7pm
