In Palazzo Barberini, which still dominates Piazza Barberini, Rione Trevi, Rome, three great architects worked to create a harmonious whole: Carlo Maderno, who began it in 1627, his nephew and assistant Francesco Borromini, working on his first important commission, and a young sculptor, Gian Lorenzo Bernini. When Maderno died in 1629 his assistant Borromini was passed over in favor of Bernini, an untried young prodigy. The two architects worked briefly in harmony on this project, but before long, competition for commissions turned them into bitter enemies. Façade of St. ... Events A Dutch ship makes the first recorded sighting of the coast of South Australia. ... Francesco Borromini (Bissone near Lugano, Switzerland, September 25, 1599 – August 3, 1667 in Rome) was a Baroque architect, and active in Rome alongside the more prolific papal architect, Gian Lorenzo Bernini. ... A self portrait: Bernini is said to have used his own features in the David (below, left) Gian Lorenzo Bernini (Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini) (December 7, 1598 – November 28, 1680), who worked chiefly in Rome, was the pre-eminent baroque artist. ... Events March 4 - Massachusetts Bay Colony is granted a Royal charter. ...

The sloping site had passed from one cardinal to another during the 16th century, with no project fully getting off the ground. The villa built by Alessandro Cardinal Sforza on this still semi-suburban site came onto the market when Sforza suffered some reverses and was bought in 1625 by Maffeo Barberini, who had come to the papal throne as Urban VIII in 1623. He first commissioned from Carlo Maderno, who was at work on the extendeed nave of St Peter's Basilica, a design that would enclose the villa Sforza in a vast Renaissance block, such as Palazzo Farnese; however, the design quickly evolved into a precedent-setting com,bination of such an urban seat of princely power with a garden front that had the nature of a suburban villa. Sforza was a ruling family of Renaissance Italy, based in Milan. ... Urban VIII, né Maffeo Barberini (April 1568 - July 29, 1644) was pope from 1623-1644. ... Events August 6 - Pope Urban VIII is elected to the Papacy. ... Interior view, with the nave of the Cattedra in the back St. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Roman villa. ...

The plan of the palazzo is disposed around a forecourt centered on Bernini's grand two-storey hall backed by an oval salone, with an extended wing that dominated the, still-unformed piazza, which lies on a lower level. The main block presents three tiers of great arch-headed windows, like glazed arcades, a formula that was more Venetian than Roman. On the uppermost floor, Borromini's windows are set in a false perspective that suggests extra depth, a feature that has been copied into the 20th century. Flanking the hall, two sets of stairs lead to thew piano nobile, a large squared staircase by Bernini and a smaller oval staircase by Borromini.

Palazzo Barberini houses the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica and a paintings collection that includes Raphael's portrait called La Fornarina, Caravaggio's Judith and Holophernes, and, unexpectedly, a Hans Holbein portrait of Henry VIII. Self-portrait by Raphael. ... Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (September 28, 1573 – July 18, 1610), named after his hometown Caravaggio near Milan, was an Italian Baroque painter, whose large religious works portrayed saints and other biblical figures as ordinary people. ... Hans Holbein is the name of two German Renaissance painters: Hans Holbein the Elder (1460-1524) Hans Holbein the Younger (c. ... Henry VIII (28 June 1491 – 28 January 1547) was King of England and Lord of Ireland (later King of Ireland) from 22 April 1509 until his death. ...

External links

• [ www.galleriaborghese.it/barberini/it/palazzo.htm Il palazzo Barberini: official site] (in Italian)
• Rome Art-Lover: Palazzo Barberini