Museo Napoleonico

The Napoleonic Museum occupies the ground floor of Palazzo Primoli in Rome. Its collection documents the Bonaparte family's ties to the city across three generations, through paintings, furnishings, letters and personal objects gathered by Count Giuseppe Primoli.

Why it matters

Primoli donated the collection to the City of Rome in 1927. Rather than presenting the Bonapartes only through the imperial campaigns, he emphasized their relationships with Rome and the family's life in the city. The result brings dynastic history into the setting of a Roman household.

What to notice

The collection includes Jacques-Louis David's double portrait of Zenaide and Charlotte Bonaparte and Jean-Baptiste Wicar's portrait of Carlotta in the dress of a peasant from Canino. Joseph Chabord's painting of Napoleon at Wagram and Empire-style furnishings evoke the First Empire. Letters, miniatures and personal possessions trace the later generations and their Roman connections.

Context and history

The museum is housed in Palazzo Primoli, whose origins date to the sixteenth century. The building passed through several Roman families before Luigi Primoli acquired it in the early nineteenth century. Count Giuseppe Primoli later commissioned architect Raffaele Ojetti to enlarge and restructure the palace; the work was completed in 1911. Primoli's donation brought the family collection and the ground floor of his palace into the city's care in 1927.