Discover Palazzo Massimo alle Terme (Museo Nazionale Romano)

The Museo Nazionale Romano was instituted in 1889 to house the antiquities of Rome, and Turismo Roma records that it holds the most important archaeological collection in the world, divided today across Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, Palazzo Altemps, Crypta Balbi and the Terme di Diocleziano.

The building itself is modern. Palazzo Massimo alle Terme was built between 1883 and 1887 to a design by Camillo Pistrucci, in neo-cinquecentesco style, on an area previously occupied by Villa Peretti, built by Sixtus V and the home of the Massimo family. Acquired by the State in 1981, it underwent substantial restoration and consolidation to adapt it as an exhibition space.

Its collections are the museum's most prestigious. They include those of the former Museo Kircheriano, the Gnecchi collection, the medieval and modern collection of Vittorio Emanuele III of Savoy, the Savoia collection and the Goldsmithing Section of jewels and gems, almost all funerary objects.

The sculpture is the headline. The Museum holds masterpieces of classical sculpture, mainly of the late republic and early imperial age, reflecting the influence of Greek-Hellenistic culture on the artists of Rome: the Augustus as Pontifex Maximus from via Labicana, the Fanciulla di Anzio, Roman copies of Greek works such as the famous Discobolus Lancellotti, the Sleeping Hermaphrodite, the Venus about to bathe by Doidalsas, and the Apollo del Tevere, a copy of a 5th-century BC original probably from the workshop of Phidias. The bronze section includes works from the ships of Nemi and the Dionysus of the Tiber.

And the second floor is painting. There are displayed some of the best-known decorative schemes found in Roman complexes, among which stand out the paintings of certain rooms of the Villa di Livia at Prima Porta and the decorations of the Villa della Farnesina, a probable imperial property, of which four of the nine surviving rooms are reconstructed, datable to around 20 BC.

It is a deliberate sixteenth-century pastiche, and it is dated precisely. Turismo Roma records that Palazzo Massimo alle Terme was realised between 1883 and 1887 to a design by Camillo Pistrucci, in neo-cinquecentesco style.

Its site carried a papal villa first. The area was previously occupied by Villa Peretti, built by Sixtus V and the home of the Massimo family — which is where both halves of the building's name come from.

Its interior architecture is a 1980s conversion. Acquired by the State in 1981, the palace underwent a substantial intervention of restoration and consolidation, aimed at adapting it as an exhibition space. The rooms you walk through were shaped by that work, not by the 1880s plan.

The most recent works went downwards. The numismatic collection is kept in the basement, in a purpose-built caveau created on the occasion of the most recent interventions on the palace — a security structure built into a historic building, for rare finds, many of them unique pieces.

And the second floor had to be built around what it holds. Displaying the painted rooms of the Villa di Livia at Prima Porta and four of the nine surviving rooms of the Villa della Farnesina means reconstructing ancient interiors inside a modern one.

The palace was built fast and to a single design. It was realised between 1883 and 1887 on a design by Camillo Pistrucci, in neo-cinquecentesco style — a late-19th-century Rome building itself a Renaissance palace.

It replaced what was already there. The area had previously been occupied by Villa Peretti, built by Sixtus V and the home of the Massimo family.

Its conversion into a museum was structural, not cosmetic. After being acquired by the State in 1981 the palace underwent a consistent intervention of restoration and consolidation, aimed at adapting it as an exhibition space — consolidation being the word that matters: the floors had to take stone sculpture.

The last phase cut a vault into the basement. The caveau holding the numismatic collection was made on the occasion of the most recent works on the palace.

The displays themselves were built as reconstructions. Of the Villa della Farnesina's nine surviving rooms, four are reconstructed inside the museum — assembled rooms rather than mounted fragments.

When is it open? Tuesday to Sunday, 9.30–19.00, with the ticket office closing at 18.00. Closed on Monday.

How much does it cost? Turismo Roma publishes no price. It gives a ticketing link on portale.museiitaliani.it and no amount, so none is quoted here.

What is the Museo Nazionale Romano? An institution created in 1889 to house the antiquities of Rome, holding what Turismo Roma calls the most important archaeological collection in the world, spread across Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, Palazzo Altemps, Crypta Balbi and the Terme di Diocleziano.

How old is the building? Built between 1883 and 1887, to a design by Camillo Pistrucci, in neo-cinquecentesco style. It is not an ancient or Renaissance palace.

What was there before? Villa Peretti, built by Sixtus V and later the home of the Massimo family.

When did it become a museum? It was acquired by the State in 1981 and then substantially restored and consolidated to work as an exhibition space.

What are the famous sculptures? The Augustus as Pontifex Maximus from via Labicana, the Fanciulla di Anzio, the Discobolus Lancellotti, the Sleeping Hermaphrodite, the Venus about to bathe by Doidalsas and the Apollo del Tevere — the last a copy of a 5th-century BC original, probably from the workshop of Phidias.

What is on the second floor? Decorative schemes from Roman complexes, above all the paintings of rooms of the Villa di Livia at Prima Porta and the decorations of the Villa della Farnesina, of which four of the nine surviving rooms are reconstructed, datable to around 20 BC.

Are there mosaics? Yes — republican-period black-and-white floors with polychrome central panels and more articulated imperial-period ones, spanning the 1st century BC to the 4th century AD, from various parts of the city.

And the coins? The numismatic collection is kept in the basement, in a purpose-built caveau made during the most recent works, with rare finds, many of them unique pieces.

Where is it? Largo di Villa Peretti 1, beside Termini station.