Palazzo Altemps

Renaissance palace in Rione Ponte north of Piazza Navona, begun in the late 15th century for Cardinal Girolamo Riario and extended in the mid-16th century by Cardinal Marco Sittico Altemps. The building combines a High Renaissance facade with an enclosed courtyard whose loggia preserves fragments of wall paintings. Since 1997 the palace has housed one of the four locations of the Museo Nazionale Romano and displays the Ludovisi collection of ancient sculpture, including the famous Ludovisi Throne and the Galatian statues. Compared with the Vatican Museums, the house feels quiet and uncrowded; you can dedicate a morning to its rooms and truly engage with individual pieces.