Via Veneto – Barberini
The entire area of Via Veneto in Rome, which became famou because sign of fashion and glamour in Rome nights at the time of period of the “Dolce vita” /from the title of Fellini’s masterpiece), was designed around 1889 and called Vittorio Veneto.
The layout that is starting from the Pinciana Door and ends in Piazza Barberini, crosses the antique property of the Ludovisi family, and is signed by the presence of numerous hotels and bars that are still nowadays, as they were in the Sixties, a privileged stage for the Roman holidays of Italian stars and foreign celebrities.
On Via Veneto, moreover, are located the Embassy of the United States hosted in the Palazzo Margherita, projected by the Architect Gaetano Koch between 1886 and 1890 and the church of Santa Maria della Concezione, also known for the Roman with the name of “i Cappuccini”, built around 1624 by the Cardinal Antonio Barberini, on the area of the pre-existing church of Sant’Antonio from Padova. Although it contains works by renowned artists like Guido Reni, Domenichino, Pietro da Cortona and Caravaggio, the church is really famous for its cemetery. In its five crypts, the entire decoration is provided by more than 4000 Capuchin Friar’s bones.
At the corner of Via Veneto you can find the famous Fountain of the Bees, the animal symbol of the Barberini, a powerful dynasty which Rome dedicated a street and a square, one of most important of the city.
Piazza Barberini is located between the Quirinale hill and Horti Sallustiani, and takes its name from Palazzo Barberini, although the entrance of the building, finished in 1625 on commission of Cardinal Francesco Barberini, is located in Via delle Quattro Fontane.
At the center of the square you can admire one of the most beautiful fountains of Rome, the Fontana del Tritone, a masterpiece of Gian Lorenzo Bernini, built in 1643, commissioned by Pope Urbano VIII Barberini. The travertine sculpture presents, among the tails of the four dolphins that support a triton, two coats of arms of the Barberini. From there it starts Via Piazza Barberini, which was opened in 1926-32 under the name of Via Regina Elena to facilitate the connection between the historic downtown and Termini Station. Along the way, characterized by the presence of the representative offices of many airlines and shipping companies, you can see part of Palazzo Barberini, with the entrance of the Galleria Nazionale di Arte Antica, one of the most prestigious museums of the Capital.
