Return visitors to Rome might have noticed the end of the restoration works to one of the most recognizable buildings in the heart of the city center, right at the corner of Via del Corso and Piazza Venezia: Palazzo Bonaparte.

Featuring prominently in most of the pictures taken by tourists in that area of the Urbs Aeterna, the Bonaparte mansion used to belong to the family of none other than Napoleon Bonaparte. Its green-balcony, particularly, has been a familiar sight for centuries. And literally so!

When you look at it, think of Napoleon’s own mother, Maria Letizia Ramolino, who may have been the first “professional people watcher”, as she set there for hours enjoying the passage of Romans in the streets below her… while remaining hidden at the same time.

Now everyone will be able to visit the palazzo itself thanks to Generali, one of Italy’s main insurance companies, which now owns the space.

Instead of just accommodating more offices for the corporation, Palazzo Bonaparte will be the house of a new exhibition space, run in partnership with Arthemisia, the Italian firm that has been in charge for the exhibitions at nearby Vittoriano (the Monument to Victor Emmanuel/Altar of the Fatherland) for the last three years.

Debuting in October

The first offering at the new museum will be called “Impressionisti segreti” (Secret Impressionists), an exhibition featuring over 50 works by such artists as Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, Gauguin and Cézanne (among others).

The title of the show refers to the fact that all of the included paintings are owned by private collectors and so they are rarely displayed during “regular” events at museums worldwide.

With the presence of Arthemisia, one of the country’s top organizers of international cultural events, we are sure that Palazzo Bonaparte will become a major hub for the arts in central Rome. Impressionisti segreti is set to debut on October 6: save the date!