Feb 17

Rome Art Portrait of Giulio Cesare after Giovanni Barracco Barracco Museum in Rome | Rome Off the Beaten Path Attractions

Ancient Rome Art Lovers | Barracco museum in Rome

Just off Camp de Fiori in the heart Rome an enchanting Renaissance palace designed by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger between 1516 and 1523 houses the little known Barracco Museum and its fine collection of priceless ancient sculptures.

The Museo Barracco located in the Farnesina Palace on the Street of the trunk makers features a prestigious collection of sculptures and art from ancient civilizations including Assyrian, Egyptian, Cypriot, Phoenician, Etruscan, Greek and Roman works, which Giovanni Barracco, a rich Italian nobleman, donated to the Municipality of Rome in 1904.

Barracco Museum the portrait of woman of the third century AD comes from Palmyra Barracco Museum in Rome | Rome Off the Beaten Path Attractions

Portrait of a woman from Palmyra Third Century A.D.

The Barracco museum hosts over 400 artworks, all very attractive, and makes a great half day tour in Rome just off the beaten path right between Campo dè Fiori and Navona square! The Barracco Museum due to its size and location offers families with kids and teens an alternative to bigger museums in Rome while providing an excellent introduction to Egyptian, Greek and Roman art and history.

museo barracco greek room Barracco Museum in Rome | Rome Off the Beaten Path Attractions

Greek works at the Barracco Museum in Rome | Rome museums

The course of the Rome museum visit begins with the Egyptian art, followed by the Mesopotamian, Cypriot and Etruscan art, ending with the Greek-Roman art, including Greek originals from the 5th Century BC, Roman remakes of Greek originals and Roman Art.

The Greek collection at the Barracco museum provides an in-depth overview of the great sculptor Polyclitus and his school. Roman art is represented by the head of a boy from the Julian family, an elegant example of private portraiture from the early imperial era (First Century AD).

5th century the ephebus by Policleto Barracco Museum in Rome | Rome Off the Beaten Path Attractions

Barracco Museum | Ephebus by Policleto

This historical journey through the evolution of ancient sculpture, which Baron Barracco called in one of his writings “the mother of all arts”, ends with a polychrome mosaic of the Church of Rome, the famous Ecclesia Romana, from the ancient Basilica of St. Peter in Rome.

Museo Barracco Nero child 1st century AD Barracco Museum in Rome | Rome Off the Beaten Path Attractions

Barracco Museum in Rome | Nero Child First Century A.D.

INFO:

Museo Barracco

Corso Vittorio Emanuele 166/A – 00186 Roma

Opening hours Tuesday-sunday 9.00am-7.00pm; 24th and 31st of December 9.00am-2.00pm (the ticket office closes an hour in advance)

Closed Monday, 1st January, 1st May and 25th December

Barracco Museum Foto Gallery on my Facebook Page

What’s Nearby for Foodies:

Roscioli Restaurant & Deli | Via dei Giubbonari

Enoteca Corsi | Via del Gesu’ 87 | Tel. 066 790821

Forno di Campo de Fiori

Enoteca Cul de Sac

Casa Bleve

Would you like to share your Italy travel tips and pictures with us? Please write us your comment and I will be happy to post it! Buon Viaggio!

Ciao from Rome:-)

Nancy Aiello

ItalyTravelista.com

Join ItalyTravelista on Twitter

© Copyright 2010, Nancy Aiello Tours

Since 1997 Nancy Aiello Tours specializes in personalized private guided Vatican, Rome & Italy Tours for Leisure & Business Travelers including Barracco Museum family friendly Rome tours.

New articles are published on our site weekly, sometimes daily. To keep up to date with our news, tips and current events, please sign up for ItalyTravelista free RSS feed.

If you are interested in publishing a version of this article please contact Nancy Aiello Tours.

barracco museum polychrome mosaic of the Church of Rome from the first basilica of St Peter in Rome dating to the XIIth century AD Barracco Museum in Rome | Rome Off the Beaten Path Attractions

Barracco Museum in Rome | Romana Ecclesia from the ancient Basilica of St. Peter

A short stroll from Campo dei Fiori Market: The Barracco museum an off the beaten track attraction in Rome.

campo de fiori by nancy aiello tours Barracco Museum in Rome | Rome Off the Beaten Path Attractions

Barracco Museum | Campo de Fiori Food Market

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Nov 23

piazza del campo siena Tour the Tuscan Countryside | Crete Senesi | The Clay Hills of Siena

Siena Medieval Piazza del Campo | Torre del Mangia | Tower of Siena

The hill top town of Siena located in Tuscany and listed by UNESCO as World Heritage Site is one of the most charming places to visit in Italy. Sienna is world famous for the Palio, the stunning Torre del Mangia and the outstanding Duomo but when in Siena visitors should not miss the opportunity to visit the Crete Senesi, where Tuscany reveals its truest and most beautiful identity.

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Crete Senesi Art of the Landscape | Tours from Siena

The Crete Senesi, the clay hills of Siena, offer a remarkable landscape of rolling hills that adopts the form of the senses and communicates with the force of emotions. This is an interesting journey through one of the most celebrated landscapes in the whole Italy. The Crete are a sea of greyish waves not  softened by woods or trees to be found just outside Siena when driving towards the south. Here, along the via Cassia, overlapping the ancient via Francigena, we find the 14th c.  walls of Buonconvento known for an interesting Sacred Art museum and a museum dedicated to sharecropping . From here we climb to the Abbey of  Monte Oliveto Major dramatically set at the edge of a steep slope of clay. This is one of the most visited monuments in Tuscany thanks to its religious and artistic heritage. The frescoes in the kiosk, the inlaid choir or the library are not to be missed. San Giovanni d’Asso is the capital of Tuscan truffles. The village castle is now the first museum in Italy  dedicated to these noble and expensive bulbs. Asciano is the most important town in the Crete area with its interesting Romanesque church and Archaeological and Art museum.

hills of siena 560x420 custom Tour the Tuscan Countryside | Crete Senesi | The Clay Hills of Siena

Clay Hills of Siena | Romantic Tuscany

Siena is separated from the Crete by a few miles and hundreds of curves, now and then its turreted profile appears on the horizon.

sienaprofile 583x297 custom Tour the Tuscan Countryside | Crete Senesi | The Clay Hills of Siena

Siena Profile from the Crete | Travel Tuscany

The crete of Siena is a portrait that varies from red to purple in fall, becomes gray as the sky in winter, evolves to brilliant green in spring, and finally shows a dazzling yellow in summer when the wheat is already high, this is a borderland where the colors of the Crete meets with the green shoulders of Chianti offering incomparable views in this sea of land of endless wheat fields dotted with hamlets, farms, vineyards, churches and winding roads.

Crete Colours 1024x768 Tour the Tuscan Countryside | Crete Senesi | The Clay Hills of Siena

Memorable Colours | Crete in Siena

The appearance of the clay hills changes with the season and sunlight but the most fascinating phenomenon here is that it is enough just to walk the same street in the different directions to discover a whole different world.

DSCN5991 1024x768 Tour the Tuscan Countryside | Crete Senesi | The Clay Hills of Siena

Crete with a View | Hill Top Farm in the Crete Area

All the streets of these hills provide excellent spots to take pictures, to observe, to wonder, to meditate, to paint, and to fall in love!

hills of siena1 1024x768 Tour the Tuscan Countryside | Crete Senesi | The Clay Hills of Siena

Hills of Siena | Siena Countryside | Enjoy Tuscany Landscapes

What to See

ASCIANO – The 14th Century Abbey of Monteoliveto Maggiore the most important monastery in the Siena area, the 11th Century Saint Agata’s Basilica, the Gothic church of San Bernardino home to the Etruscan Museum and the late Gothic Church of Saint Francis, Piazza del Grano with its 15th Century travertine fountain by Paolo Ghini.

Weekly Market on Saturday | Asciano Crete Market – Second Sunday of every month

nancyaiellotoursoftuscany 522x392 custom Tour the Tuscan Countryside | Crete Senesi | The Clay Hills of Siena

Unique Landscape of Tuscany | Crete Senesi | Clay Hills of Siena

RAPOLANO TERME – Porta dei Tintori, Piazza del Castellare, the Romanesque Church dedicated to Saint Bartolomeo, the breathtaking view over Siena’ s tower. Weekly Market on Friday

DSCN6062 1024x768 Tour the Tuscan Countryside | Crete Senesi | The Clay Hills of Siena

A View of the Crete from Rapolano Terme | Landscapes of Tuscany

SERRE DI RAPOLANO – The gorgeous historical center, the outstanding medieval architectural complex of Palazzo della Grangia, and its surrounding gems such as the villages of Armaiolo and Poggio Santa Cecilia, and the 12th Century Castle of Madanella.


Best Restaurants Around the Clay Hills of Siena

Da Mario | Buonconvento | Euro 25

Da Roberto Taverna in Montini | San Giovanni d’Asso | E.30

Il Conte Matto | Trequanda | Euro 35

Modanella | Modanella | Euro 35

La Pievina | 9 Via Lauretana Asciano | Euro 50

Would you like to share your Italy travel tips or pictures with us? Please write us your comment and we will be happy to post it! Enjoy Tuscany!

Ciao from Rome:-)

Nancy Aiello

ItalyTravelista.com

Join ItalyTravelista on Twitter

© Copyright 2009, Nancy Aiello Tours

Since 1997 Nancy Aiello Tours, based in Rome, specializes in Private Guided Vatican and Rome Tour, Siena and Tuscany wine tasting tours, and Italy Tours for the value conscious travelers and family visiting Italy with children.

New articles are published on our site weekly, sometimes daily. To keep up to date with our news, tips and current events, please sign up for ItalyTravelista free RSS feed.

If you are interested in publishing this article please contact Nancy Aiello Tours for consent & info.

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Nancy Aiello Tours of Tuscany | Travel to Tuscany

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