My Favourite Small Museums in Rome for a Low-Effort Visit
It won’t be a secret to anyone reading this that Rome is full of amazing museums. With over 100 to choose from, you’d probably need a lifetime to visit them all. Even after living here for over a year, I’ve barely made a dent!
Of course, there are the super famous ones, like the Vatican Museums, but this post is all about the lesser-known gems. Personally, I love small, low-effort museums—the kind that don’t overwhelm you with endless information but instead fit perfectly into your day for a quick, inspiring visit.
So, in this blog post, I’ll share some of my favourite small museums in Rome that are perfect for a low-effort, yet totally worthwhile, visit.
Centrale Montemartini
The first museum on my favourites list is also the biggest one, located in the industrial neighbourhood of Ostiense. The Centrale Montemartini Museum was created in 1997 when a former thermoelectric power plant was transformed into a museum.
When I first heard about the idea of an industrial power plant turned museum, I knew I had to check it out—and I’m happy to report that it did not disappoint!
At Centrale Montemartini, you’ll find a remarkable collection of classical sculptures, all excavated in Rome between the late 19th and early 20th centuries. What makes this museum truly special is how these sculptures are displayed against the backdrop of the original power plant machinery, including turbines, engines, and boilers. The contrast between ancient art and industrial structures creates such a unique and creative atmosphere—I can honestly say I’d never experienced anything like it before!
As you might already know, on the first Sunday of every month, museums in Rome are free, and that’s when I visited Centrale Montemartini. If you're not visiting on a free Sunday, regular tickets cost €11, while visitors aged 6 to 25 can get a reduced ticket for €6.50. The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday from 9:00 to 19:00. If you want to book your ticket in advance online, you can click this link!
Casina delle Civette
For the next two museums on this list, we’re moving from Ostiense to Villa Torlonia, a beautiful park that I’ve written about before in my post on the most stunning parks in Rome. With three museums inside, it’s a great cultural spot, and since two of them are on this list, it’s extra convenient if you want to visit more than one in a day.
If you know me personally or have read other posts on my blog, you’ll know I love whimsical, fairytale-like architecture, like Quartiere Coppedè in Rome. So of course, Casina delle Civette is right up my alley and in my opinion, a must-visit museum.
Casina delle Civette, or the House of the Owls, was originally built in 1840 as a Swiss-style retreat for Prince Alessandro Torlonia. But in 1908, his nephew, Giovanni Torlonia Jr., transformed it into a Neo-Gothic and Art Nouveau gem, complete with turrets, stained-glass windows, and colourful roofs.
From a distance, the museum already looks like something out of a fantasy novel, and the inside does not disappoint. It’s full of quirky details, and the stained-glass windows are absolutely stunning. I put some of my favourites in this post, but honestly, all of them were amazing! A visit takes you through all the beautifully decorated rooms, and with the light falling through the stained glass, it’s just such an inspirational experience.
Again, I visited on the free museum Sunday, which I highly recommend if you also want to check out the other museums in Villa Torlonia, like the next one on this list. Otherwise, regular tickets cost €13 for adults, with a reduced price of €9.50.
Musei di Villa Torlonia – Casino Nobile
Just a three-minute walk from Casina delle Civette, you’ll find Casino Nobile, another small but worthwhile museum with a fascinating history. Between 1925 and 1943, Mussolini lived here with his family, making this villa one of the most intriguing places in Villa Torlonia.
A visit takes you through the different rooms of the house, including the bedrooms, where the original furniture is still intact. My favourite part was the stunning ballroom, mainly used for private entertainment, like movie screenings for Mussolini’s family. The villa’s interiors are beautifully decorated with paintings, sculptures, and fine art. It definitely feels fancy.
On the top floor, you’ll find the Museum of Scuola Romana, showcasing works from the Roman School, an influential art movement active between the two World Wars.
The basement of the villa gives access to two bunkers built by Mussolini, but these are not included in the standard Villa Torlonia ticket and must be booked separately with a guide. I haven’t visited the bunkers yet, but they’re definitely still on my bucket list!
The museum is open every day except Monday from 9:00 to 19:00. Tickets cost €11 for adults and €6.50 reduced, though personally, I think €11 is a bit much for this museum. That’s why I recommend visiting on a free museum Sunday so you can easily combine it with the other museums in Villa Torlonia.
Museo Barracco
Last but not least is Museo Barracco, located at Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, 168, very close to Piazza Navona. As you might have noticed by now, I love visiting museums on the free Sunday of the month (something about being a student and Dutch), but with this one, it’s not even necessary because it’s always free. Isn’t that nice?
Museo Barracco is probably the most low-effort museum you can visit. First, because it’s free, and second, because it’s really small but still super interesting.
The museum consists of a collection of ancient sculptures from Assyrian, Egyptian, Cypriot, Phoenician, Etruscan, and Greco-Roman art. The entire collection was donated to the City of Rome in 1902 by Giovanni Barracco, a wealthy gentleman from Calabria who dedicated his life to collecting artifacts, either by purchasing them on the antiquities market or recovering them from excavations.
What I love about this museum is that you can compare the different styles of sculpture from various civilizations right on the spot. Since the museum is so small, you can easily walk back and forth between the different rooms. How easy is that? It’s such a low-effort visit, and since it’s right in the city centre, I highly recommend stopping by if you’re nearby.
The museum is open every day except Monday from 10:00 to 18:00.
Conclusion
Writing this post was kinda difficult for a couple of reasons. First, there are so many museums in Rome that I almost got museum FOMO while writing this. I’m calling these museums my favourites right now, but what if there are even better ones out there? Well, these are my favourites at the moment, so maybe in the future, I’ll write an updated post with some new picks.
The other reason is that I find everything interesting, so honestly, I end up loving almost every museum I visit. But I hope this post inspires you to check out some of the smaller museums in Rome, because they are truly special. And if, like me, you’re not a fan of crowds, these are perfect—even on free Sundays, they aren’t that busy!
I’d love to hear about your favourite museums in Rome!
