On the occasion of the four hundredth anniversary of the election of Urban VIII Barberini to the papal throne, the National Galleries of Ancient Art are dedicating an impressive exhibition to the longest and most representative pontificate of the seventeenth century (1623-1644).

Curated by Maurizia Cicconi, Flaminia Gennari Santori and Sebastian Schütze, the exhibition is produced by the National Galleries of Ancient Art with the support of the General Directorate of Museums of the Ministry of Culture.

The Sovereign Image celebrates the cultural and political profile of the pope who more than any other had an impact on philosophical thought, scientific knowledge and the arts of the seventeenth century, with the aim of illustrating the ways in which the pontiff favored the instrument of hegemony cultural as a function of political and government action . Urban VIII together with his nephews, Cardinals Francesco and Antonio and Prince Taddeo Barberini, tenaciously pursued an ambitious political-cultural project, which pervaded all areas of knowledge and artistic and cultural production.

For the man of letters and poet Maffeo Barberini, patronage and the promotion of the arts contributed substantially to the strengthening of the spiritual and temporal government of the Church, and not only to the growth of personal and family prestige. Urban VIII gave an unmistakable stamp to his pontificate, promoting colossal undertakings such as the baldacchino of San Pietro, designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, or the fresco by Pietro da Cortona in the great hall of Palazzo Barberini. A new style was imposed, which had immediate diffusion not only in Rome and Italy, but in the entire European scenario: the Baroque was born in Rome, with the Barberini.

For the first time, the protagonists and masterpieces of that exceptional season which was the pontificate of Urban VIII will be reunited again in Palazzo Barberini , the sumptuous family residence built opposite the Quirinale. Masterpieces of the Barberini collection, dismembered over the centuries and currently conserved in the main museums of the world, therefore return to their original location; it will be possible to admire works, among others, by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Caravaggio, Valentin de Boulogne, Francesco Mochi, Nicolas Poussin, Andrea Sacchi and some of the spectacular tapestries produced by the Barberini Arazzeria.

On display more than 80 works from the museum's collection and from over 40 museums, Italian and international private collections.