Top of the World
The Mario Praz House Museum is located on the third floor of the Palazzo Primoli on Via Zanardelli, just a few steps from Piazza Navona in Rome. It is one of the city's most fascinating house museums, belonging to Mario Praz (Rome, 1896-1982), a famous essayist, art and literature critic, best known for his studies of England from the seventeenth century to the Victorian era and for his art collection.The house museum, inhabited by Praz from 1969 to 1982 and opened to the public in 1995, houses a vast collection of more than one thousand two hundred objects and furnishings that the author collected throughout his life and travels.The interiors are arranged according to Praz's artistic vision, transforming private space into a magical and fascinating place. The ten rooms of the house museum allow visitors to take a true journey through time, where the history of each object is intertwined with memories of the owner's life.Inside you can admire paintings of views of Italian cities, portraits of sovereigns, sculptures, French bronzes, German porcelain, English furniture, silverware and marbles, ranging from neoclassical to Biedermeier styles.This eclectic collection reflects Praz's desire to live immersed in the beauty and charm of art.Numerous trips have been occasions for purchases, defining the European character of the Collection, with English furniture, French bronzes, Russian malachites, Bohemian crystal, German porcelain, views of Italian and European cities, portraits of ruling families from the Bourbons to the Bonapartes, and those of many unknowns who lived in the 19th century.The Mario Praz House Museum is a place to be discovered, an immersion in a world of study, travel, cultures and different times. Admission is free and offers visitors the opportunity to immerse themselves in a unique atmosphere where life and art come together in a fascinating combination.
