Guercino. The Ludovisi Era in Rome from 31 October to 26 January 2025.

A major new exhibition in the Italian capital will highlight the magnificent artistic legacy of the Italian Baroque master Guercino and the noble Ludovisi family in 17th-century Rome.

Guercino. L'era Ludovisi a Roma, hosted at the Scuderie del Quirinale from 31 October to 26 January, will focus on the artist Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, better known as Guercino (1591-1666), and the Ludovisi dynasty, personified by Cardinal Ludovico and his uncle Alessandro Ludovisi, Pope Gregory XV.

The exhibition examines the brief but significant Ludovisi papacy (1621-1623), a luminous interlude between the great Borghese and Barberini dynasties, when the young Guercino asserted himself in Rome thanks to the patronage of Gregorio XV.

The Ludovisi set about filling their new family home, the Casino di Villa Boncompagni Ludovisi, with extraordinary works ranging from antiquity to contemporary art of the time, and commissioned artists including Guido Reni, Domenichino, Carracci, Lanfranco, Pietro da Cortona, Van Dyck, Poussin, Bernini and - the pope's favourite - Guercino.

Organised in collaboration with prestigious institutions such as the Uffizi Galleries, the Museo Nazionale Romano and the Capitoline Museums, the exhibition features 121 works from 68 important museums and collections.

The exhibition also offers the chance to visit some rooms of the Casino di Villa Boncompagni Ludovisi (also known as Villa Aurora), including the Sala dell'Aurora with Guercino's famous fresco of the Roman goddess of dawn, Aurora.

Tickets for the guided tours will be available on a limited basis and by reservation, with booking linked to the purchase of the ticket for the exhibition at the Scuderie del Quirinale.

The visits, all guided by an art historian, will last about half an hour and are scheduled from 9 November on weekends and holidays (with the exception of 25 December and 1 January) every 30 minutes from 10.00 to 13.00 and from 14.00 to 16.00.

For full exhibition and booking details see the Scuderie del Quirinale website.