Rome Glossary

The words, places and institutions that come up when you plan a trip to Rome, explained in plain language. Each entry says what it is, why it matters and what to do about it.

60 terms

Tickets and access

Collections and curating

Collections and curating Antonio Canova Antonio Canova (1757 to 1822) was the leading Neoclassical sculptor, whose Pauline Bonaparte as Venus Victrix is one... Collections and curating Caravaggio Caravaggio, born Michelangelo Merisi in Milan in 1571 and dead at Porto Ercole in 1610, is the painter of dramatic... Collections and curating Diego Velázquez Diego Velázquez (1599 to 1660), court painter to Philip IV of Spain, painted the Portrait of Pope Innocent X in Rome... Collections and curating Francesco Borromini Francesco Borromini (1599 to 1667) was Bernini's rival and the most inventive architect of the Roman Baroque. At... Collections and curating Gian Lorenzo Bernini Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598 to 1680) was the sculptor and architect who shaped Baroque Rome: the Borghese sculpture... Collections and curating Michelangelo Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475 to 1564) painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling and the Last Judgement, designed the dome... Collections and curating Pinacoteca A pinacoteca is a painting gallery, as opposed to a collection of sculpture or antiquities. The Vatican Pinacoteca... Collections and curating Raphael Raphael (1483 to 1520) painted the four Raphael Rooms in the Vatican for Julius II and his successors and is buried...

Art movements

Art movements Baroque The Baroque is the art of seventeenth-century Rome: theatrical, emotional and built for the Counter-Reformation... Art movements Mannerism Mannerism is the elongated, artificial style that followed the High Renaissance from the 1520s. In Rome it is seen in... Art movements Neoclassicism Neoclassicism is the late eighteenth-century return to Greek and Roman models, born in Rome around the antiquities... Art movements Renaissance The Renaissance in Rome is the papal art of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries: the Sistine Chapel, the...

Techniques and materials

Techniques and materials Affresco Affresco is painting on wet plaster, so that the pigment binds into the wall as it dries. It is the technique of the... Techniques and materials Chiaroscuro Chiaroscuro is the use of strong light against deep shadow to model figures. Caravaggio pushed it to the extreme now... Techniques and materials Marmo Marmo is marble. Ancient Rome imported coloured marbles from across the empire for floors and columns, and... Techniques and materials Mosaico Mosaico is a surface made of small stone or glass tesserae. Rome shows both the black-and-white floor mosaics of the... Techniques and materials Travertine Travertine is the pale limestone quarried near Tivoli that built the Colosseum's outer ring and the facade of St...

Museum architecture

Rome museum spaces

Rome museum spaces Direzione Musei nazionali di Roma The Direzione Musei nazionali della città di Roma is the Ministry of Culture office that runs Castel Sant'Angelo, the... Rome museum spaces Fabbrica di San Pietro The Fabbrica di San Pietro is the Vatican institution responsible for St Peter's Basilica, its dome and the... Rome museum spaces Galleria Borghese The Galleria Borghese is the state museum in the Borghese villa holding Bernini's sculptures and the Caravaggio... Rome museum spaces Musei Capitolini The Musei Capitolini are the civic museums on the Capitoline Hill, housed in the Palazzo dei Conservatori and the... Rome museum spaces Musei in Comune Musei in Comune is the network of museums owned by the city of Rome, run by the Sovrintendenza Capitolina and... Rome museum spaces Museo Nazionale di Castel Sant'Angelo The Museo Nazionale di Castel Sant'Angelo occupies Hadrian's mausoleum of the second century AD, later a fortress and... Rome museum spaces Parco archeologico del Colosseo The Parco archeologico del Colosseo is the state body that runs the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, the Palatine and the... Rome museum spaces Parco archeologico di Ostia antica The Parco archeologico di Ostia antica is the state site covering the ancient port city of Rome at the mouth of the... Rome museum spaces Passetto di Borgo The Passetto di Borgo is the elevated corridor running along the wall from the Vatican to Castel Sant'Angelo, built... Rome museum spaces Santa Maria ad Martyres Santa Maria ad Martyres is the church the Pantheon became in 609, which is why the building survived intact. It is... Rome museum spaces Scavi The Scavi are the excavations of the ancient necropolis beneath St Peter's Basilica, where the tomb identified as St... Rome museum spaces Soprintendenza Speciale di Roma The Soprintendenza Speciale Archeologia Belle Arti e Paesaggio di Roma is the state heritage office for the city. It... Rome museum spaces Vatican Grottoes The Vatican Grottoes are the crypt level of St Peter's Basilica holding the tombs of many popes. They are entered...

Accessibility and families

Accessibility and families Audio guide An audio guide is the museum's own recorded commentary, rented at the desk or downloaded as an app. In Rome it often... Accessibility and families Cloakroom The guardaroba is the free cloakroom where museums require large bags, umbrellas and backpacks to be left. At the... Accessibility and families Guided tour A visita guidata is a visit led by a licensed guide. In Rome the licence matters: only authorised guides may lead...

Conservation and research

Conservation and research Restauro Restauro is restoration, and a room marked in restauro is closed or scaffolded for it. Rome's museums restore in...