Top 100 best museums in Rome

The Vatican Museums, situated in Vatican City, are recognized as some of the largest museums globally. They were constructed by the Roman Catholic Church during the Renaissance period and are renowned for housing a vast collection of significant sculptures. These museums offer a unique opportunity to explore the rich history and artistic heritage of the Catholic Church.

The 17th century Villa Borghese Pinciana, built for Cardinal Scipione Borghese as his suburban manor, is located in the Borghese gardens. It houses the Borghese Gallery with a spectacular collection of renaissance and baroque paintings and sculptures by the most famous artists. You can admire the pa

Ostia, located on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea in ancient Latium, Italy, was an important port city for ancient Rome and is believed to be one of its first colonies. This historical significance makes it a fascinating destination for those interested in the history of the Roman Empire.

Originally built in the second century AD by the Roman emperor Hadrian as his mausoleum, in the 14th century, it was decided that the building should be turned into a castle and a special corridor was added in order to connect the castle with St. Peter’s Basilica. Today, the castle serves as a museu

The Palazzo Bonaparte, previously known as D'Aste Rinuccini, is a historical palace located in the Pigna district of Rome, with a view overlooking Piazza Venezia. This location offers visitors a chance to experience the rich history of Rome, while also enjoying the bustling atmosphere of the Piazza Venezia.

More than five centuries old, the Musei Capitolini, the Capitoline Museums (which is a single museum) was the oldest public museum in the world, composed of three main buildings (the Palazzo Senatorio, the Palazzo dei Conservatori, and the Palazzo Nuovo) surrounding the Piazza del Campidoglio and li

Museo Nazionale Romano - Palazzo Massimo is the National Museum in Rome, housed in the Palazzo Massimo alle Terme. Erected between 1883 and 1887 in a neo-cinquecentesco style, it was a prestigious school until 1960. The ground floor features the notable bronze statues of the Boxer at Rest and the At

The Galleria Doria Pamphilj is a museum in Rome, housed in the Palazzo Doria Pamphilj, the palace of the Doria family (who still lives there), which could very well be the largest in Rome still in private ownership. The museum mainly exhibits paintings. However the collection contains paintings, fur

The Domus Aurea, literally translated as the 'House of Gold', was a grand palace constructed by Emperor Nero on the Oppian Hill in the heart of ancient Rome. This construction was initiated after the great fire of 64 AD. The palace was a symbol of opulence and extravagance, with its luxurious inlays of gold, precious stones, and ivory.

The Pantheon is an ancient temple in Rome, rebuilt in the 2nd century AD. It is one of the best-preserved Roman buildings in the world, thanks to its transformation into a church in the 7th century and its continuous use and maintenance since then. This makes it a unique historical site that offers a glimpse into the architectural prowess of the ancient Romans.

The Stadium of Domitian, also known as the Circus Agonalis, is a significant historical site located to the north of the Campus Martius in Rome, Italy. This ancient stadium was commissioned around AD 80 by Emperor Titus Flavius Domitianus as a gift to the people of Rome and was primarily used for athletic contests. Today, it stands as a testament to Rome's rich history and architectural prowess.

The Palazzo Barberini is a Renaissance palace that is the joint work of three of the most admired architects of the era - Bernini, Borromini and Maderno. The interior boasts splendid works of art, too. You can find paintings by masters like Tizian or Caravaggio here, as well as the famous "La Fornar

Galleria Colonna is a museum in Rome that is housed in the Palazzo Colonna that was built in the 15th century by Pope Martinus V member of the noble Colonna family. The Galleria Colonna holds and exhibits a collection of art that includes works by Titian, Guercino, Reni, Bronzino (Venus, Cupid), Jac

Established in 1883, the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna is all about modern art. It hosts more than 5,000 artworks, both paintings and sculptures, that date from the 18th century all the way to the 1960s. Among its collection are the works of world-renowned artists like Cezanne, Van Gogh, or Mone

The Baths of Diocletian (Thermae Diocletiani) was a large public thermal complex in ancient Rome. The Baths of Diocletian were located on the summit of the Viminal. The complex was built from 298, commissioned by Emperor Maximian and was inaugurated in 306. Since Maximian was in power the lesser of

Located on Via Ostiense in Rome, Centrale Montemartini is the newest exhibition space among the municipal museums of Rome. In front of an industrial-archaeological backdrop, it houses about 400 Roman statues as well as tomb inscriptions and mosaics. Set in the oldest power plant in Rome, the museum

The Scuderie del Quirinale (Quirinal Stables, or Papal Stables) was built from 1722 to 1732. The Scuderie, together with the Palazzo del Quirinale, the official residence of the President of the Italian Republic and the Palazzo della Consulta, the Constitutional Court, are all situated close to each

The Museo Nazionale Etrusco di Villa Giulia is the National Etruscan Museum in Rome, housed in the Villa Giulia that was built for pope Julius III. The first rooms of the museum feature artefacts organized according to a double principle: topographical and chronological. Furthermore, the museum incl

The Museum and Crypt of Capuchins is located in a crypt under the church Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini. The museum presents bones of nearly 4000 Capuchin friars stored in the crypt. The bones are arranged into macabre decorations. The Capuchins have been using the church since 1631. So

The Ara Pacis museum (or Museum of the Ara Pacis) is a museum in Rome that houses the Ara Pacis of Augustus, an ancient monument that was initially inaugurated on January 30, 9 B.C. The Ara Pacis Augustae is an altar dedicated to the Roman goddess of peace: Pax. It was commissioned by the Roman Sena

The Villa Farnesina is a country house in Rome from the beginning of the 16th century. It is built in a U-shape and is located in the spaciously laid-out Farnese garden. The villa was built between 1506 and 1510 for the rich sienese banker Agostino Chigi. It is a masterpiece in which architectural d

MAXXI (Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo), the National Museum of the 21st Century Arts is a museum in Rome. The museum is housed in a building that was designed by Zaha Hadid and opened in 2010. In the same year it received the Stirling Prize from the Royal Institute of British Architects.

The Jewish Museum of Rome is situated in the basement of the Great Synagogue of Rome. The museum is dedicated to the history of the Jewish presence in Rome, which began in the second century BCE, but it also presents works of art produced by this Jewish community. A visit to the museum includes a gu

The Palazzo Altemps is a palace in Rome that was designed in the 15th century by Melozzo da Forlì for Girolamo Riario. In 1997 it was inaugurated as a museum and became part of the National Roman Museum showing ancient works of art with sculptures from Renaissance collections such as the Boncompagni

The VIGAMUS - The Video Game Museum of Rome is an interactive museum in the Italian capital Rome that is dedicated to the history of video games. It features a permanent exhibition that is divided into different eras of video game history, starting off with the Magnavox Odyssey. The collection of V

The Bioparco is a 17-hectare large municipal zoo in Rome which feels like a safari, as there are no fences/bars in many parts of the Bioparco Zoo. The Zoo is home to over a 1,000 animals from more than 200 species. Its two newest exhibits can be considered as main attractions: the orangutan expositi

Explora in Rome is a science and history museum in Rome. With the motto "learning by doing", the museum features a lot of interactive exhibitions, full of various educative activities. These are divided into areas designated for children of a specific age. The Explora aims to encourage and help the

Case Romane del Celio refers to the remains of a Roman residential complex below the Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo in the Celio district in Rome. There are many frescoes to be seen from different times and with different iconographic intentions. After a long restoration a museum opened here th

The Villa Medici is a large country house in Rome, built by Ferdinando I de 'Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, at the end of the 16th century on the site of the gardens of Lucullus. The villa is located on the Pincio hill, just north of the old town of Rome. In 1803, Napoleon founded a branch of the Fr

The Museo Nazionale di Palazzo di Venezia is a museum in Rome that is housed in the Barbo apartments of Palazzo Venezia. In addition to some rooms with their original furnishings, the museum houses a collection of important paintings from the 14th to 15th centuries, tapestries, ceramics, majolica, J

La Crypta Balbi is a complex connected to the ancient theater of Balbo in Rome. Today it is one of the headquarters of the National Roman Museum. The Theatre of Balbus was an ancient Roman structure in the Campus Martius of Rome that was built in 13 BC by proconsul Lucius Cornelius Balbus (minor). T

Palazzo Corsini is a villa in Rome from the 15th century that houses the Galleria Corsini. The palace was originally built by the Riario family and later inhabited by Queen Christina of Sweden during the 17th century. The Florentine Corsini family moved into the building after Cardinal Lorenzo Corsi

Palazzo Spada is a structure in Rome that was built in the mid-16th century for Cardinal Girolamo Capodiffero. It was rebuilt by Francesco Borromini when the building was sold in 1631 to Cardinal Bernardino Spada. The building served for the art collection of the Spada Family. Nowadays, the Galleria

In the Leonardo da Vinci Museum in Rome, you can discover interactive and life-size machines crafted by Italian artisans from Leonardo’s codices and see exhibitions on his most famous Renaissance art, anatomical sketches and animations of The Last Supper, Vitruvian Man, and the Sforza equestrian scu

The Casina delle Civette (House of the Little Owls) is a result of a series of additions to a building that was intended as a refuge from the formality of the main villa on the grounds, Villa Torlonia, a villa in Rome with surrounding gardens which used to belong to the Torlonia family, of which con

Museo Napoleonico is a museum in Rome that holds and exhibits a collection that was donated in 1927 by Count Giuseppe Primoli, a descendant of Napoleon. The museum houses various portraits and objects, but also interiors from the Neapolitan era. The collections of the Museo Napoleonico are divided i

The Museo Storico della Liberazione is the Museum of the Liberation of Rome that occupies three floors in an apartment building where it illustrates the period of German occupation of Rome in World War II as well as its liberation. The building was used as the headquarters of the Sicherheitspolizei,

The Pietro Canonica Museum is the house museum of the sculptor Pietro Canonica. The house, where the artist lived until his death, was donated to the municipality of Rome which now manages the museum. The ground floor and the lower floors of the museum contain rooms that display the works, both copi

The Museo di Roma is a museum in Rome that was founded in the Fascist era to document the history and traditions of the so called "old Rome". Nowadays however, it is principally an art museum. The Museo di Roma holds works by artists including Pompeo Batoni, Giuseppe Bottani, Ippolito Caffi, Antonio

The Museo Nazionale dell'Alto Medioevo (The National Museum of the High Middle Ages, MAME) is a state museum in Rome that is housed in the Palazzo delle Scienze. The museum was inaugurated in 1967 to become an archaeological museum dedicated to the High Middle Ages starting from the post-classical a

The Museo Barracco, or Museo di Scultura Antica Giovanni Barracco, is a museum in Rome that was established after Baron Giovanni Barracco donated his collection of antique sculptures to the museum in 1902. the museum was originally located in the baron's house. The museum's collection consists of ar

Villa Torlonia is a villa in Rome with surrounding gardens which used to belong to the Torlonia family. Mussolini rented Villa Torlonia from the family for one lira a year to use as his state residence from the 1920s onwards. Nowadays it is a museum: Musei di Villa Torlonia. The museum in the villa

MACRO - Museo d'Arte Contemporanea is the Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome that holds and exhibits a collection of contemporary art with about 1,200 works of art from 1960 to the present. It includes some of the most significant expressions of the Italian art scene since the 1960s, among others th

Museo Hendrik Christian Andersen is a museum in Rome in Italy, the place where Hendrik Christian Andersen died in 1940. After his death, he donated his home, studio, papers and more than 400 pieces of his work so this museum could be created. The Hendrik Christian Andersen Museum in Rome contains mu

The Porta San Sebastiano (the ancient Porta Appia) is the largest and one of the best-preserved gate that passes through the Aurelian wall in Rome. Directly behind the gate stands the Arch of Drusus, which belonged to the aqueduct Aqua Marcia. The large gate was rebuilt five times. Nowadays, the tow

The Pigorini National Museum of Prehistory and Ethnography (Museo Nazionale Preistorico Etnografico "Luigi Pigorini") is la museum in Rome. Divided into two separate sections, the museum is spread over three floors and presents on the one hand a large collection of objects of non-European ethnograph

The Historical Museum of the Carabinieri (Museo Storico dell'Arma dei Carabinieri) is a museum in Rome near the Vatican. This Police Museum in Rome illustrates its history chronologically and thematically, starting from the foundation in 1814 of the ancient Corps of Royal Carabinieri, through to the

Museo di Roma in Trastevere is a museum in Rome that is housed in the restored Carmelite convent of Sant'Egidio. The museum holds and exhibits a collection that illustrates the recent culture of Rome, with the help of life-size models. The main focus is on Roman life in the late eighteenth and ninet

The Carlo Bilotti Museum is a museum of contemporary art in Rome. It is based in the "Aranciera" of Villa Borghese and houses paintings, sculptures and watercolors from the collection donated by the Italian-American entrepreneur and collector Carlo Bilotti, which includes works by Giorgio De Chirico

The Museo della Civiltà Romana is a large museum in Rome that features one of the most wholesome collections of artefacts and artworks devoted to the history of Roman civilisation. It was first opened in 1955 and today spans over more than 12 000 square meters. The items on display here are divided

The Boncompagni Ludovisi Decorative Arts Museum, also just Museo Boncompagni, is the Decorative Arts Museum of the National Gallery of Modern Art of Rome. The museum is housed in the Villino Boncompagni, an Art Nouveau villa from the twentieth century. The museum focuses on talian decorative arts, c

The Central Museum of the Risorgimento at the Vittoriano in Rome (Museo centrale del Risorgimento al Vittoriano) is an exhibition space built in 1935 and opened to the public in 1970. It is dedicated to the Risorgimento era and located in a building to the left of the Vittoriano, at the back of the

Museo della Via Ostiense is a museum in Rome, housed in the former Porta San Paolo city gate. The museum was built in 1954 to illustrate the topography of the area between Rome and Ostia. Important finds related to the ancient Via Ostiense connecting route between Rome and Ostia and a model depictin

The Casa di Goethe is a museum and cultural center in Rome dedicated to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and his Italian journey. With the permanent exhibition 'Goethe in Italy' and two to four temporary exhibitions per year, this Goethe museum in Rome recalls Goethe's Italian experience and the tradition

The Museo Palatino is a museum in Italy that illustrates the history of the Palatine hill. Inside, you will find interesting historical artefacts unearthed on some of the archaeological digs that took place here. Highlights include a number of imperial portraits, including a picture of the famous ma

The Museum of Casal de 'Pazzi is a museum that focuses on archaeological, geological and paleontological related objects. The museum covers part of a Pleistocene deposit of fluvial origin. The deposit extended over an area of ​​about 1200 m² and consisted of sand and gravel, mostly volcanic. The dep

The Chiesa del Sacro Cuore del Suffragio is a neogothic church in Rome. Within its sacristy hides a museum: The Museum of the Souls in Purgatory (Museo delle Anime del Purgatorio). Inside, you can find exhibitions of various objects and artworks that are supposed to prove the existence of a Christia

Museo Civico di Zoologia is a natural history museum in Rome that specializes in fauna and its evolution throughout history. Its collections include conches, several insects, and over 290 artifacts from mammals, some of which are today extinct. Highlights in the museum include the skeleton of a comm

The National Museum of Musical Instruments (Museo nazionale degli strumenti musicali) is a museum in Rome. Its collection is based on the collection of musical instruments from the Jesuit Athanasius Kircher (1602-1680), who was also an organ expert. The museum's collection includes nearly 3,000 piec

The Museo dell'Arte Classica (Museo dei Gessi della Sapienza) is a museum in Rome that was founded by Emanuel Löwy. The Museum has a collection of about twelve hundred plaster casts, which mostly reproduce existing Greek sculptures in museums and collections from all over the world; the exhibition i

The Parco Museo Ferroviario (Parco Museo Ferroviario Met.Ro) is a railway museum in Rome that holds numerous vehicles of the predecessor companies that made up the ATAC. It is located in the Roma Porta San Paolo train station on the Roma Porta San Paolo-Cristoforo Colombo railway line to Lido di Ost