There are days when Rome decides to reveal its most secret treasures. One of these is the extraordinary opening of Palazzo Chigi Odescalchi, thanks to a special permit granted by Princess Odescalchi. Located between Piazza Santi Apostoli and Via del Corso, this palace is a monument that spans five centuries of aristocratic history, the scene of architectural transformations that involved some of the greatest figures in the Roman art scene.
Built in the mid-16th century as the residence of the powerful Colonna family, the palace was later entrusted to the care of architect Carlo Maderno, who redesigned the spaces according to the refined taste of the time. But it was in the 17th century that the building underwent a radical change: Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s intervention transformed the ancient residence into one of the most influential models of European Baroque architecture, with a façade that soon became a reference point for generations of artists and builders.
In the 18th century, with its purchase by the Odescalchi family, the palace enjoyed a further period of splendour. The new owners entrusted its expansion to two giants of architecture: Luigi Vanvitelli and Nicola Salvi, who shaped a monumental complex in which Baroque splendour blends with 18th-century elegance in a balance of extraordinary harmony. Within these walls, cardinals, princesses, diplomats, collectors and leading figures of Roman cultural life have come and gone; the halls house one of the richest and most prestigious private art collections in the capital, a heritage that has remained largely inaccessible.
Once you cross the threshold of the majestic apartment still inhabited by Princess Odescalchi, the focus of the visit is an encounter with an absolute masterpiece: Caravaggio’s Conversion of Saint Paul, one of the very few works by Michelangelo Merisi belonging to a private owner, visible only on extremely rare occasions. This is the first version of The Conversion intended for the Cerasi Chapel in Santa Maria del Popolo, commissioned in September 1600 by Monsignor Tiberio Cerasi. The history of the Odescalchi painting is fascinating and shrouded in mystery. After being replaced in the chapel in 1605, perhaps because it was not perfectly suited to the space, or perhaps because it was deemed unsatisfactory by the client or his heirs, the work embarked on a long journey through various collections. It passed into the hands of the Roman cardinal Giacomo Sannesio, then into the collection of a Spanish nobleman, before returning to Italy thanks to its purchase by a Genoese aristocrat. From there, it was inherited and finally arrived in the Odescalchi picture gallery, where it has been jealously guarded for generations and is still preserved today.
For the occasion, the tour will be led by an exceptional guide: an exhibition curator and former museum director, an expert on Caravaggio’s work and responsible for organising numerous international exhibitions dedicated to Michelangelo Merisi, who will recount the Conversion of Saint Paul and the secrets of the great Caravaggio.
