Antonio Barberini an opera house in Rome and built in 1632. It was located in "Via delle Quattro Fontane", near the Piazza Barberini and the Quattro Fontane or "Four Fountains". Though Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio died when Antonio Barberini was only 3 years old, the Cardinal later became a great admirer of his work and his extensive art collection included Caravaggio's paintings such as "Still Life with Fruit", "Cardsharps" and "The Lute Player". Antonio had purchased the art collection of Francesco Maria Del Monte upon the cardinal's death which had included a large number of important works. Pope Urban VIII had purchased
Palazzo Barberini awarded to Bernini, a young prodigy then better known as a sculptor. Borromini stayed on regardless and the two architects worked together, albeit briefly, on this project and at the Palazzo Spada. Works were completed by Bernini in 1633. After the Wars of Castro and the death of Urban VIII, the palace was confiscated by Pamphili Pope Innocent X and was only returned to the Barberini in 1653. The palazzo is disposed around a forecourt centered on Bernini's grand two-storey hall backed by an oval "salone", with an extended wing dominating the piazza, which lies on a lower level. At