The Dispersion of the Barberini Collection: A Story of Fascist-Era Looting

A current exhibition at Palazzo Barberini in Rome, 'L’immagine sovrana. Urbano VIII e i Barberini,' tells the story of the collection's absence. The collection, once housed in the palace, was dispersed during the Fascist regime. Paola Nicita's essay in the exhibition catalog details the masterpieces lost, including works by Caravaggio, Raphael, Dürer, and Poussin. The collection was sold abroad after the Italian government, under Mussolini, removed the fideicommissum (entail) that had protected it. Key figures include Superintendent Roberto Paribeni, who resisted the sales, and Minister Ercole, who bypassed advisory bodies. The 1929 Lateran Treaty included a clause requiring the sale of Villa Barberini at Castel Gandolfo to the Holy See, which the regime compensated by allowing the Barberini family to export artworks. In 1934, the family traded 17 'Italian' works to the state for export licenses for 106 paintings, tax-free. Works ended up in the Louvre, Thyssen-Bornemisza, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and other institutions. The article questions the legality of the exports under a dictatorship and whether these works constitute looted art, calling for restitution.