Rome: Artemisia Gentileschi Private Tour & Palazzo Barberini

Highlights

• Private expert guide
• Artemisia's Rome
• Palazzo Barberini entry

What's included

Itinerary

1. 1

   Chiesa di Santa Maria del Popolo

   30min

   Begin in Piazza del Popolo, in the quarter where the Gentileschi family lived. Artemisia grew up in the workshop of her father Orazio, a well-known painter of his time. When she was just twelve, her mother died and was buried nearby in Santa Maria del Popolo. Inside, in the Cerasi Chapel, discover two masterpieces by Caravaggio — the revolutionary painter whose work was part of the artistic world in which the young Artemisia developed her talent.

2. 2

   Basilica dei SS. Ambrogio e Carlo al Corso

   30min

   Learn about Artemisia’s life as she was assaulted, deceived and betrayed — events that would lead to the notorious trial that changed the course of her life. Then step inside the Basilica dei Santi Ambrogio e Carlo al Corso to see one of her paintings and uncover its remarkable rediscovery. Christ Blessing the Children was lost to Artemisia’s story for centuries, passing through collections under different attributions before eventually reaching New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. Sold by the Met in 1979 as the work of another artist, it was finally recognized as Artemisia’s in 2012 — here in Rome, hanging in this very church.

3. 3

   Castel Sant'Angelo

   30min

   Walk toward Castel Sant’Angelo as Artemisia’s story reaches its most dramatic chapter: the trial of Agostino Tassi. Forced to recount the assault before a Roman court, she then had to defend the truth of her own testimony. To test her words, the judges subjected her to the sibille — cords wrapped around her fingers and progressively tightened. Even under torture, Artemisia refused to change her account. Tassi was eventually convicted and sentenced to exile from Rome. The original trial records, preserving Artemisia’s own words, still survive today in Rome’s State Archive.

4. 4

   Galleria Spada

   30min

   End the tour at the magnificent Galleria Spada, housed in the historic Palazzo Spada and home to an extraordinary collection of Baroque art. Admire two paintings by Artemisia Gentileschi, Madonna and Child and Saint Cecilia, alongside works by other great masters of the 16th and 17th centuries. Explore the richly decorated gallery rooms before discovering Borromini’s famous Perspective Gallery, an architectural masterpiece where an ingenious optical illusion makes a short colonnade appear much longer than it really is. Entry tickets included.

Before you go

Location