Rome, Villa Caffarelli will host an exhibition on the Farnese family in 16th century Rome

From February 11 to May 18, 2025, the exhibition I Farnese in Sixteenth-Century Rome will be hosted at the Capitoline Museums, Villa Caffarelli. Origins and fortune of a collection, curated by Claudio Parisi Presicce and Chiara Rabbi Bernard, promoted by Roma Capitale, Assessorato alla Cultura, Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali and organized by Zètema Progetto Cultura in collaboration with Civita Mostre e Musei.

A journey into the heart of 16th-century Rome, at a time of profound urban and cultural transformation promoted by Paul III Farnese (1534-1549). In the aftermath of the Sack of Rome in 1527, the city experienced a period of rebirth and renewal. Paul III, a central figure in this regeneration, promoted extraordinary interventions such as the monumentalization of the Piazza del Campidoglio, entrusted to Michelangelo. The famous equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, transferred in 1538 from the Lateran to the Campidoglio, becomes the centerpiece of the Capitoline hill, around which Michelangelo designs a scenic monumental backdrop that exalts Rome’s glorious past.

At the same time, the pontiff initiated the most important collection of art and antiquities in 16th-century Rome. Between 1545 and 1546, during excavations at the Baths of Caracalla, colossal marble statues such as theHercules, the Bull, and the Flora Farnese came to light, which found their place in the courtyard of the Palazzo Farnese in Campo de’ Fiori. After the death of Paul III, his grandson Alessandro Farnese inherited the collection and transformed Palazzo Farnese into a refined residence reflecting the power and prestige of the family. Amid sculptures, antique gems, precious furnishings, and works by artists such as Titian and the Carraccis, the palace became a symbol of the Farnese family’s power. If the monumentalization of the Capitol represents the public incisiveness of the Farnese family, Palazzo Farnese embodies the private dimension of their power. This public/private dynamic is the focus of the exhibition at Villa Caffarelli.

Divided into six sections, the exhibition is the result of a complex loan campaign involving numerous Italian and international museums. The itinerary opens with engravings and plans illustrating the urban transformation projects commissioned by Paul III in preparation for the Jubilee of 1550. The protagonists of this section include the bronze Camillus from the Capitoline collections, donated to the Roman People by Sixtus IV in 1471, and its copy, made by Guglielmo della Porta for Cardinal Alessandro Farnese in the 1660s.

Continuing, a gallery of portraits introduces the key figures of the Farnese family: from Paul III to his grandsons Alessandro and Ottavio. The passion for antiquity, which characterizes the Farnese collection, is represented by drawings, engravings and small bronzes evocative of the great marbles found in the Baths of Caracalla, among the first to be displayed in the courtyard of Palazzo Farnese.

The public is then invited to enter the original setting of the ancient collection of Palazzo Farnese, walking through the reconstruction of the Hall of the Philosophers, which in the 16th century housed masterpieces such as the Venus Callipigia, now preserved in the Archaeological Museum of Naples, and the Gallery frescoed by the Carracci, here evoked by important preparatory drawings of the frescoes and some of the most important exhibits in the large reception room, now preserved at the Archaeological Museum of Naples, which return to be visible in Rome after their relocation during the last decade of the 18th century. The tour continues with a reconstruction of the Camerino and the Picture Gallery of Palazzo Farnese, concluding with a room devoted to a comparison between two important collections of the period: that of the Farnese and that of the Orsini, both of which shared a destiny of dispersion.

The exhibition will be preceded by an introductory event, scheduled for Thursday, December 19, at 5:30 p.m., at the Capitoline Museums, Palazzo dei Conservatori, at the Exedra del Marco Aurelio, the ideal link between the figure of Paul III, the Farnese collection and the Capitoline Museums.

Capitoline Superintendent Claudio Parisi Presicce will open with a general overview of Paul III Farnese and the renewed Rome on the eve of the Jubilee of 1550 and an introduction to the exhibition, curated together with Chiara Rabbi Bernard. This will be followed by a talk by Carlo Gasparri (Prof. Emeritus - University of Naples Federico II), who has devoted many of his studies to the Farnese collection of antiquities, and whose presentation will focus on the sculptures once owned by the Farnese, preserved since the late 18th century in Naples. Some of the works from the Farnese collection, a point of reference since the 16th century for artists and scholars, will be the protagonists of a further in-depth study by Adriano Aymonino (University of Buckingham) and Eloisa Dodero (Capitoline Museums). Closing the event will be Salvatore Settis (Prof. Emeritus - Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa), who will discuss the bronzes donated to the Roman People by Pope Sixtus IV - from 2020 collected in a new display in the Exedra of Marcus Aurelius - and the future of archaeology collections in contemporary museums.

The event is promoted by Roma Capitale, Assessorato alla Cultura, Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali with the museum services of Zètema Progetto Cultura. Admission is free while places are available.

The exhibition will be open to the public from Feb. 11 to May 18, 2025 daily from 9:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Rome, Villa Caffarelli will host an exhibition on the Farnese family in 16th century Rome

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