Rome has a million museums, and they are chock-full of amazing art. We’ve seen a lot of it, and it’s fantastic. But it’s also, often, expensive. We certainly aren’t going to say it’s not worth it, but there is also a fair bit of free stuff if your wallet is feeling the pinch. There are, of course, lots of ruins that you can walk by. But some of it is indoors, and so a bit trickier to find. Here are some excellent examples of free art in Rome, from three of our very favourite artists.
Bernini
We love us some Bernini! Stellar architect and sculptor, even a pretty darn good painter. Also, apparently, a playwright. We think that everyone in the world should spend as much time as they possibly can gazing at his Apollo and Daphne and the Rape of Persephone in the Galleria Borghese. (His David sculpture and self-portrait located there are also worth a look.)
But if you’re looking for some free Bernini, we’ve got you covered. He’s behind a number of Rome’s most famous fountains. These include the Four Rivers in Piazza Navona, the Piazza Barberini (two of them!), and the Barcaccia at the foot of the Spanish Steps. And his hands, metaphorically speaking, are all over St Peter’s Basilica and square. There’s a lovely Bernini elephant in the Piazza della Minerva (pictured above). But our hands-down favourite Bernini sculpture is his St Teresa in Ecstasy at the Chiesa Santa Maria della Vittoria. (If you love this one, check out his Blessed Ludovica Albertoni in the church of San Francesco a Ripa in Trastevere too!)
Michelangelo
Michelangelo is more usually associated with Florence, but there’s plenty of good stuff here in Rome as well. You will surely want to take a peep at the Sistine Chapel and the Pietà in St Peter’s, both at the Vatican. But tickets are expensive and you have to get them far in advance.
So for some free Michelangelo, you can head over to the Church of San Pietro in Vincoli. And there you can behold our very favourite Michelangelo sculpture anywhere (even more than the David in Florence) – his Moses, and with it the whole grandiose tomb of Pope Julius II. And it’s yours to stare at for as long as you like, for free!
Caravaggio
Rome is awash in Caravaggios: you can find them at the Galleria Borghese, the Capitoline Museums, the Galleria Corsini, the Palazzo Doria Pamphilj – and more! But all of these museums will charge you to roam about their paintings. Want to see a few Caravaggios for free?
There are plenty! Probably our favourite of the free ones are those in the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi, right off Piazza Navona. Here you can find on the front side altar on the left not one, not two, but three Caravaggios: The Calling of St Matthew, The Martyrdom of St Matthew, and St Matthew and the Angel. All are stunners. But here the paintings are perhaps not entirely free: in order to see them clearly, you have to put a coin in the illumination box (this is common in Roman churches – probably because they can’t charge you to enter a church!). On the other hand, there are always tourists who will put in the coin, so you can just wait for them to do it!
Those are our very favourite examples of free art in Rome. But there are tons more, many of which are to be found in churches. The only thing is, check the churches’ hours before you make the trek. Many are closed in the middle of the day, and we’ve missed out more than once by showing up at the wrong time!
