Overview
- The Ministry of Culture confirmed the €30 million acquisition as one of its most significant single-work investments.
- The painting, created around 1598 and attributed to Caravaggio since 1963, portrays Maffeo Barberini before he became Pope Urban VIII.
- The work will enter the permanent collection of Rome’s Palazzo Barberini, expanding a leading public hub for Caravaggio’s art.
- The canvas was bought from a private collection after more than a year of negotiations, with sellers not officially identified though reports point to Florence-based owners.
- The move follows last month’s purchase of Antonello da Messina’s Ecce Homo for roughly €12.5 million as part of a broader program to strengthen national heritage and public access.