How busy is the Galleria Colonna?
The Colonna family still lives in this palace, and the state rooms open to the public for just a few hours a week. That short window is the whole story of the crowds: everyone who wants to see the Great Hall has to fit into Friday's guided tours or Saturday's four-hour opening.
Saturdays are the main event. A line can build at the Via della Pilotta ticket office at and just after opening, and the Great Hall fills up from mid-morning. Inside, the busiest spot is the short staircase leading up to the Great Hall, where people stop to look at the cannonball still lodged in the steps.
Crowds through a Saturday morning
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Tickets and prices
Free on Saturdays: children under 12 (up to two per paying adult), a companion of a visitor with a disability, and licensed guides leading a group. The phone-based audio guide costs €5 extra; you scan a QR code, no app needed.
Getting in without a wait
- Choose your day by what you want. Friday if you want a guide and an orderly small group; Saturday if you'd rather wander and linger.
- Book in advance for either day. Friday tours are reservation-only and Saturday is the gallery's busiest morning.
- On Saturday, arrive for 9:15 am and go straight up to the Great Hall before it fills.
- Leave the garden until last: the terrace above the secret garden and the café are a quiet finish when the rooms are at their busiest.
- Pick the complete tour if you can. Princess Isabelle's apartment is only open on the complete ticket and is far less crowded than the Great Hall.
Not in Rome on a Friday or Saturday?
Private tours run on other days for groups of at least 10 (or paying for 10). Worth asking if you're travelling as a large family or group.
What you'll see
The gallery was built in the mid-17th century as a state room celebrating the naval victory at Lepanto, where Marcantonio II Colonna commanded the papal fleet. He appears again and again on the ceilings.
The Great Hall
The reason to come: a vast gilded hall with a ceiling fresco of the Battle of Lepanto, mirrors painted by Mario dei Fiori, Giovanni Stanchi and Carlo Maratta, and paintings by Guercino, Salvator Rosa, Tintoretto, Reni and Lanfranco. On the short staircase leading up to it, a cannonball fired from the Janiculum by the French army during the 19th-century Roman Republic is still embedded in the step.
The Hall of the Landscapes
Named after its many landscapes by Gaspard Dughet, with a ceiling by Luca Giordano and Sebastiano Ricci and an ebony-and-ivory cabinet carved with scenes from the Old and New Testaments.
The Hall of the Apotheosis of Martin V
Home of Annibale Carracci's Bean Eater, a rough, direct painting of a peasant at his meal that the gallery says went on to inspire painters such as Van Gogh and Degas.
The Throne Room
Dedicated to the Colonna pope Martin V. The throne was kept for papal visits, and the room's oldest works are 14th-century paintings by Stefano da Verona and Jacopo Avanzi.
Princess Isabelle's apartment and the gardens (complete tour)
Private family rooms on the complete ticket, then the Pio Pavilion and the gardens climbing towards the Quirinal Hill, with a terrace café in fine weather.
Plans by visitor type
First visit, limited time
Saturday short tour (€15) at 9:15 am: the Great Hall, the Carracci and the garden in about an hour.
Art and history fans
The Friday guided tour (€35, about 2 hours) explains the family and the paintings in a way the rooms alone don't.
Families
On Saturdays, two children under 12 go free with each paying adult. Children usually like the cannonball and the garden more than the paintings.
Accessibility
Visitors with limited mobility should use the Piazza Santi Apostoli 66 entrance rather than Via della Pilotta. Call ahead to plan your route.
Getting there
The palace is between Piazza Santi Apostoli and Via della Pilotta, a few minutes' walk north-east of Piazza Venezia and about 5 minutes from the Trevi Fountain.
- Saturday entrance: Via della Pilotta 17.
- Friday tours, private tours and step-free access: Piazza Santi Apostoli 66.
FAQs
When is the Galleria Colonna open?
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To the public only on Friday and Saturday mornings, including public holidays. Saturdays are 9:15 am to 1:15 pm (last entry); Fridays are guided tours by reservation.
How much does the Galleria Colonna cost?
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On Saturdays, €15 for the short tour or €25 for the complete tour with Princess Isabelle's apartment. The Friday guided tour costs €35.
Is there an English tour of the Galleria Colonna?
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Yes, on Friday mornings at 9:30 and 10 am, by reservation.
Do I need to book the Galleria Colonna in advance?
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For Friday tours, yes. For Saturdays it's recommended; you can book online through Ticketone or Roma Pass, by phone or email, or buy at the Via della Pilotta ticket office.
Are children free at the Galleria Colonna?
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Heading to Galleria Colonna?
See how busy it is right now and the quietest hours for your date, then walk in when the line is short.
Check live crowds →Sources
How we research: every guide is written by the BeatTheCrowd team from official sources and recent traveller reports, cross-checked against each other, and dated so you know how fresh it is. Last checked 10 November 2026. Prices and rules change, so always confirm on the official site before you book.
