Palazzo Barberini Palazzo Barberini The Palazzo Barberini () is a 17th-century palace in Rome, facing the Piazza Barberini in Rione Trevi. It houses the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica. The sloping site had formerly been occupied by a garden-vineyard of the Sforza family, in which a "palazzetto" had been built in 1549. The sloping site passed from one cardinal to another during the sixteenth century, with no project fully getting off the ground. When Cardinal Alessandro Sforza met financial hardships, the still semi-urban site was purchased in 1625 by Maffeo Barberini, of the Barberini family, who became Pope Urban VIII. Three great architects
Maffeo Barberini (1631–1685) Maffeo Barberini (1631–1685) Maffeo Barberini (19 August 1631 – 28 November 1685) was an Italian nobleman of the Barberini and "Prince of Palestrina". He was appointed Gonfalonier of the Church. Born in 1631, Barberini was one of the five children of Taddeo Barberini and Anna Colonna, daughter of Filippo I Colonna. His siblings included cardinal Carlo Barberini and Lucrezia Barberini who married Francesco I d'Este, Duke of Modena. His great uncle (on his father's side) was Barberini Pope Urban VIII. Between 1639 and 1649, the Barberini fought the Wars of Castro alongside the Pamphili family. Maffeo's father, Taddeo, and Luigi