Napoleonic Museum

A small treasure near Piazza Navona, always free to enter and rich in Napoleon-era furniture, books, and personal objects. The highlight is the room with beautifully preserved garments — an intimate, atmospheric glimpse into another century. A quiet, rewarding cultural stop in the heart of Rome.

Small museum crammed with lots of interesting items. Saw several busts and paintings I'd seen in art/history books over the years. Depictions of many members of the Bonaparte extended family. Free to enter.

Underrated place for Napoleonic war fans. I love this place. Sadly not so many people visited this yet but it’s a great place to actually consider visiting.

Loved them even more after seeing the other rooms in the louvre. It’s not crowded and it’s free. Enjoy it. The whole time to spend should be less than 2 hrs.

A Fascinating Glimpse into Napoleonic History The Museo Napoleonico is a hidden gem in Rome that offers a captivating look into the history and legacy of the Bonaparte family. Located just steps from Piazza Navona, this elegant museum is housed in the former residence of Count Giuseppe Primoli, a descendant of Napoleon’s family, and showcases an impressive collection of paintings, sculptures, personal artifacts, and documents. The museum’s exhibits are beautifully curated, providing visitors with a well-rounded understanding of both the political and personal sides of the Napoleonic era. The rooms are richly decorated, maintaining their 19th-century atmosphere and offering an intimate glimpse into aristocratic life in that period. What makes the experience particularly enjoyable is the peaceful and uncrowded setting — a welcome contrast to the busier tourist attractions nearby. The staff are polite and knowledgeable, and the free admission makes it an accessible cultural stop for anyone interested in European history. The only minor drawback is that some informational displays are limited in English, which may slightly hinder the experience for international visitors. However, the museum’s visual richness and historical depth more than compensate for this. Overall, the Museo Napoleonico is a beautifully preserved, educational, and underrated museum that deserves far more attention than it receives. A highly recommended stop for history enthusiasts seeking a quieter, more refined experience in Rome.

This is a beautiful Museum with the free entrance. In 1927, Giuseppe Primoli , son of Count Pietro Primoli and Princess Carlotta Bonaparte, donated his collection of works of art, Napoleonic memorabilia, family memorabilia to the city of Rome, together with the rooms on the ground floor of his palace which still contain them today . The collection was born not so much from the desire to offer testimony to the imperial greatness of the Bonaparte family , but from the desire to tell its story from a private point of view, and to document the intense relationships that bound it to Rome.

This is a very nice museum for. The collection itself is priceless and is very well kept. It’s very unique and special, it’s interesting collection of personal items of the once Emperor of Italy Napoleon. I really enjoyed my time here and did some research before I went so I knew what I really wanted to see. It’s definitely worth the visit and I would highly recommend seeing Napoleon’s museum.

Always good to see Napoleon. Even better when its free!

We took an excursion that only took us to Rome from Civitavecchia, the cruise port, the bus ride was 4 hrs rd trip leaving us w just 4 hrs to see the city but I have been to Rome some 7 times, my husband was scared of missing the bus so we only saw the Piazza Navona and the church there then came back to the bus stop. I was so excited to find out we stood right in front of the museum, the entrance was free and it was nicely air conditioned. The Museo Napoleonico in Rome presents the collections of Count Giuseppe Primoli, the great-grandson of Joseph and of Lucien Bonaparte. Born in 1851 to Princess Charlotte Bonaparte and Count Primoli di Foglia, Giuseppe Primoli belonged to the Roman branch of the imperial family. He spent most of his youth in Paris, at Napoleon III's court and moved to Rome after the fall of the Empire. Totally devoted to his family on his mother's side, he started a collection of works of art and various objects linked with the Bonapartes. The collection - comprising family souvenirs, objects donated by Princess Mathilda and Empress Eugénie, items bought from antique dealers or purchased in auction sales - grew consistently until its owner died in 1927. Count Primoli donated it to the city of Rome where many Bonapartes had sought refuge. I had gone to a French lycee and learned about Napoleon, I had gone to Corsica and seen the house where he was born, it was amazing, Corsica was a beautiful island, one thing I never saw was a picture of Josephine, his life long love and devotion to her, never learned about his long quest to have an heir so all those questions were answered by this massive museum. When I was young I was irritated w all the French revolution, guillotine and eternal wars between Europeans but as I get older I get fascinated by it all and going back to my roots, coincidentally on the 14 hours flight back from Barcelona, Lufthansa had the movie Napoleon w Vanessa Kirby and the amazing actor Joaquin Phoenix, wow she was so glamorous, that was not how real oil paintings of Josephine showed her, she looked pretty plain Jane but she was a real character. I must have spent hours studying the history of all the pictures, I was very impressed with the fact it was free and the museum curators were very helpful. Highly recommended even if you are not a Francophile.

Nice history about Napoleon and his family. Great to do to fill in time between bigger site seeing events. Free admission and 5 euro for audio-- audio is recommended for the full history and hidden treasures.

This museum is truly a hidden gem I don't think anybody knows about it but it is small and packed filled floor to roof wall-to-wall with artifacts pictures and well documented historical information about the family Napoleon. I myself, not being a history buff was mesmerized of the extent of the napoleonic era influence and the size of the family that ruled Europe and parts thereof for many generations. And to learn about the lesser known generations of Napoleon that attempted but ended up ruling nothing. At the very end of the museum is a small Room with some clothes from the era and it's amazing to see the size and the proportion of this clothes compared to modern day body sizes and frame types. The Napoleon's truly were a small sized people but with grand ambitions and grand control they left a grand legacy and can all be found here.

This is a really interesting small museum with high quality items. And it's free! Yes- free. I'm so glad we made the to time to go here. It was on our way to museo altemps- so we thought, " Why not?" If you have any interest in Napoleon you have to come here, but even if you don't, make the stop. The jewelry was gorgeous- but so was everything else. And you'll get the story of the man who started the museum.

Wandering around Rome, we stumbled upon this little Napoleon Museum and decided to go in, mostly because it was free to enter. We only spent about 20 or so minutes, I estimate, but saw a few interesting items and enjoyed the building it was housed in. Ah, serendipity.

I can't tell you how many times we have been to Rome and never managed to see this museum. Well, we finally did, and we were so glad. It sits right on the Tiber River across from the Palace of Justice. This is a free museum. The museum has 14 rooms containing everything Napoleon in Rome. It was given to the City of Rome in 1927 by Count Joseph Primoli. He is a descendant of Napoleon; thus the fascination with the Bonapartes. This was his private collection. There are family souvenirs, paintings, miniatures, furniture, sculptures, drawings and so much more. The museum is arranged in exactly the same way as it was when first planned by the Count. We were so glad we finally saw this museum.