Galleria Colonna

The Galleria Colonna is one of Rome's best-kept secrets, partly because it is only open two mornings a week. It is still the private residence of the Colonna family, who have lived here for over twenty generations — since the 13th century — and the gallery they built in the late 1600s is a 70-metre-long barrel of Baroque extravagance. Gilded mirrors, crystal chandeliers, polychrome marble, and a ceiling frescoed with the Battle of Lepanto (the family's proudest moment, when Marcantonio Colonna commanded the papal fleet) create an effect that is somewhere between a museum and a stage set. The art collection is serious: Bronzino, Tintoretto, Guercino, Guido Reni, Salvator Rosa, Vanvitelli, and others line the walls. A cannonball lodged in the gallery's marble staircase since the 1849 siege of Rome has been left in place as a conversation piece. The Princess Isabelle apartments (available on the full route) feel like walking into someone's exceptionally grand living room, which is essentially what they are. What makes it special is the combination of outstanding art, over-the-top Baroque architecture, and the feeling that you are a guest in a private home rather than a visitor to a museum. The Saturday morning English tour at noon is an excellent way to experience it.