Barberini Palace

Barberini Palace it is a palace which houses part of the important building National Gallery of Ancient Art and l & #8217;Italian Institute of Numismatics. 
It was built by the powerful Barberini family, of Tuscan origin, after the election to the papal throne of Maffeo Barberini with the name of Urban VIII. 
The construction work began in 1627 under the direction of the architect Carlo Maderno, who initially conceived a quadrangular construction that incorporated the pre-existing Villa Sforza according to the traditional scheme of the Renaissance palace, inspired by the model of Palazzo Farnese. It was only later that the open-wing project was developed which transformed the building into a palace-villa, combining the two functions of representative residence of the papal family and suburban villa.