(ANSA) - Rome, January 29 - Rome's Palazzo Barberini hosting the national gallery of ancient art is to get 700 sq m of new exhibition space under an agreement signed by the culture and defence ministers on Thursday. Under the deal Defence Minister Roberta Pinotti has agreed to return rooms in the 17th-century palace occupied by the ministry for decades. The rooms, including the throne room containing a large painting by Baroque artist Mattia Preti, will be open to the public "in a year" following restoration, Culture Minister Dario Franceschini said. They will however be available to the defence ministry for ceremonial use if necessary.
Restoration will cost in the region of 1.8 million euros. "It truly is an important day, the demonstration of the government's willingness to invest in culture," Franceschini said.
Palazzo Barberini, whose collection contains masterpieces by Caravaggio, Canaletto, Guercino, El Greco, Pietro da Cortona and Tintoretto among others, is one of 20 museums across Italy to have gained autonomous status under the reorganization of the country's museum system last year. The palace was begun in 1624 by architect Carlo Maderno for Pope Urban VII, a member of the Barberini family. Gianlorenzo Bernini and Francesco Borromini also worked on the project while Pietro da Cortona helped with the architectural design and painted the ceiling fresco in the palace's main hall.