Besides all the beautiful monuments in Rome such as the Colosseum and the Trevi fountain, there are also many wonderful museums that are worth seeing while you are here. The good thing about being a student in Rome is that in many places, you get discounts or even free entrance! Here are some of the most amazing museums to visit.
- MAXXI-Museo Nazionali delle Arti del XXI Secolo
This is a fairly new museum dedicated to contemporary art and architecture. There are so many wonderful things to see, including the building itself. The design was made by Zaha Hadid and won an international design competition. It’s a place to spend your whole day walking and seeing incredible works of art.
2. Palazzo delle Esposizioni
PalaExpo is a neoclassical exhibition hall, cultural center and museum. There are several exhibitions to enjoy at the same time, which rotate every few months, and the whole museum is full of beautiful artwork by incredible artists.
3. Musei Vaticani
There are multiple museums (54 different galleries) located in Vatican City. This is an immense collection that has been built up over the years, with some beautiful masterpieces of Renaissance art and classical sculptures. The Sistine Chapel is one of the most amazing places I’ve ever seen; there is nothing as beautiful as its ceiling, which was decorated by Michelangelo. Forget about doing anything else the day you visit: it is impossible to not spend hours in this place surrounded by so much art and history. These museums are the sixth most visited in the world, and they are visited by 6 million people each year. (The Art Newspaper, 2013)
4. Galleria Borghese
This museum is located in the beautiful gardens of Villa Borghese. There is an amazing collection – begun by Cardinal Scipione Borghese in the early 1600s- of paintings, sculpture and antiquities. There are several important works by Caravaggio and Bernini.
5. Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea (GNAM)
Here you can find the biggest modern and contemporary art collection in Rome! The building is called Palazzo delle Belle Arti and it displays about 1100 paintings and sculptures of the 19th and 20th centuries. The works of art include many from Italian artists like Umberto Boccioni, but also from great non-Italian artists such as Van Gogh, Cezanne, Degas, Duchamp and more.
There are many more museums, churches and beautiful buildings to see in Rome; this is just a short list of some of my favorites. Keep your eyes open as you walk around, because Rome is full of art and history everywhere you go!
Read this post in Spanish!
Amanda Uribe
International Affairs Major
JCU Class of 2019
Hometown: Quito Ecuador
