Palazzo Colonna

Aristocratic palace at Piazza Santi Apostoli in Rome, held for 23 generations by the Colonna family, one of the most influential Roman noble houses of the Middle Ages and modern era, producing several popes and cardinals. The present building dates in its core from the 15th century and was given its Baroque form in the 17th by Antonio del Grande and Girolamo Fontana. At its heart sits the Galleria Colonna, a roughly 75-metre-long mirror hall decorated with ceiling frescoes about the 1571 Battle of Lepanto - the Holy League's victory under Marcantonio Colonna over the Ottomans. The collection includes works by Bronzino, Tintoretto, Veronese and Annibale Carracci. The gallery normally opens only Saturday mornings, which turns a visit into a small appointment.