# Palazzo Massimo — National Roman Museum, Rome

> Palazzo Massimo is the main seat of the National Roman Museum beside Termini and one of the world's great collections of ancient art, with very few crowds. Highlights include the bronze Boxer at Rest, the Discobolus, the painted garden room from Livia's villa and superb mosaics. A combined ticket is about €10–12; it opens Tuesday to Sunday. Allow two hours.

Web page: https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/palazzo-massimo

- City: [Rome](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome), Italy
- YesGo score: 34/100 (Yes, if nearby)
- Time on site: 2 h
- With kids: Fine with kids
- Ticket: ≈ €10–12 — combined for the four National Roman Museum sites
- Opening hours: Tue–Sun ≈ 9:30–19:45
- Closed: Mondays
- Highlights: Boxer at Rest, Discobolus, Livia's garden frescoes
- Time needed: ≈ 2 hours
- Location: Largo di Villa Peretti 2; 3 minutes from Termini
- Coordinates: 41.90154, 12.49806
- Facts checked: 10.11.2026

## Key facts

- **1883–1887** — the palace was built as a Jesuit college (source: English Wikipedia)
- **1st century BC** — the garden frescoes from the villa of Livia, Augustus's wife (source: English Wikipedia)
- **Bronze** — the Boxer at Rest is one of the finest ancient bronze originals (source: English Wikipedia)
- **Discobolus** — the Lancellotti Roman copy of Myron's discus thrower (source: English Wikipedia)
- **4 sites** — of the National Roman Museum: Palazzo Massimo, the Baths, Altemps, Crypta Balbi (source: English Wikipedia)

## Tickets and hours

Entry uses the **National Roman Museum combined ticket** — about **€10–12** according to guides — valid for several days at Palazzo Massimo, the [Baths of Diocletian](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/baths-of-diocletian) opposite, Palazzo Altemps near Piazza Navona and the Crypta Balbi. It opens **Tuesday to Sunday** and closes on **Mondays**. Queues are rare.

## About the museum

**Palazzo Massimo** is a late-19th-century palace facing the Baths of Diocletian and the main home of the **National Roman Museum**. It gathers finds from Rome and its surroundings over the past 150 years — sculpture, bronzes, frescoes, mosaics and coins — a collection that rivals the Vatican and Capitoline museums for quality, with far fewer visitors.

Four floors: sculpture from the Republic to the late Empire on the first two, **frescoes and mosaics** from Roman villas on the third, and a **coin cabinet** with jewellery in the basement.

## The masterpieces

The star is the Hellenistic bronze **Boxer at Rest**: a weary man seated, head turned, with a broken nose, cauliflower ears and leather thongs on his fists — one of the few surviving **ancient bronze originals**, and you can walk all the way round it. Beside him stands the bronze **Hellenistic Prince**.

Nearby are the **Lancellotti Discobolus**, the best Roman marble copy of Myron's discus thrower, the Sleeping Hermaphrodite, the Maiden of Anzio and imperial portraits including Augustus as high priest.

## Livia's garden and the Farnesina frescoes

The third floor holds what connoisseurs come for: the **frescoes from the villa of Livia**, Augustus's wife, at Prima Porta. An entire room is painted as a **garden** — trees, roses, quinces, pomegranates, birds on branches, a turquoise sky — moved here whole. In the dim light you seem to be standing in a 1st-century BC garden.

Next door are frescoes and stucco ceilings from a **Roman villa** found by today's Villa Farnesina on the Tiber, delicate with landscapes and myths, along with mosaic floors of hunts and sea scenes.

## What to see

- **Boxer at Rest** — Hellenistic bronze, ground floor.
- **Hellenistic Prince** — bronze, beside the Boxer.
- **Lancellotti Discobolus** — the Roman copy of Myron.
- **Sleeping Hermaphrodite** — marble.
- **Livia's garden room** — third floor.
- **Farnesina villa frescoes** — third floor.
- **Coin cabinet** — coins and jewellery, basement.

> **Make the most of the ticket** Start at Palazzo Massimo, then cross the road to the Baths of Diocletian on the same ticket — it's a three-minute walk. Keep Palazzo Altemps for another day near Piazza Navona.

## How to get there

1. From **Termini** station, 3 minutes' walk to Largo di Villa Peretti.
2. Metro A and B to **Termini**, or A to **Repubblica**.
3. The Baths of Diocletian are opposite.
4. Buses 40, 64, 70 and 170 to Piazza dei Cinquecento.

## Is Palazzo Massimo worth it?

Yes, especially for lovers of antiquity: it may be Rome's most underrated museum, with world-class masterpieces and no queues. The Boxer and Livia's garden alone justify the visit. It's perfect before a train or after arriving, three minutes from Termini.

## Before you go

Tick off what's ready — your ticks are saved in this browser.

- [ ] Buy the National Roman Museum combined ticket
- [ ] Make sure it isn't a Monday
- [ ] Find the Boxer on the ground floor
- [ ] Go up to Livia's garden on the third floor
- [ ] Cross to the Baths of Diocletian on the same ticket

## Rome's museums: compare and choose

Museums in Rome rated by YesGo.

- [Sistine Chapel](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/sistine-chapel) — YesGo score 64/100 (Yes, go) · 30 min · Vatican Museums ticket ≈ €25
- [Castel Sant'Angelo](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/castel-sant-angelo) — YesGo score 57/100 (Yes, go) · 1 h 30 min · ≈ €15–20
- [Domus Aurea](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/domus-aurea) — YesGo score 49/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 15 min · ≈ €18, with VR ≈ €26
- [Ara Pacis](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/ara-pacis) — YesGo score 47/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · ≈ €13–15
- [San Luigi dei Francesi](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/san-luigi-dei-francesi) — YesGo score 47/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 20 min · Free
- [Galleria Borghese](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/galleria-borghese) — YesGo score 45/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 2 h · ≈ €18
- [Vatican Museums](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/vatican-museums) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 3 h · ≈ €25
- [Capitoline Museums](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/capitoline-museums) — YesGo score 43/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 2 h 30 min · ≈ €15–19.50
- [Baths of Diocletian](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/baths-of-diocletian) — YesGo score 42/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Basilica free; museum ≈ €10–12
- [Galleria Doria Pamphilj](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/doria-pamphilj) — YesGo score 39/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · ≈ €16–18
- [Palazzo Farnese](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/palazzo-farnese) — YesGo score 39/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 15 min · Paid, booking only
- [Imperial Fora](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/imperial-fora) — YesGo score 38/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free from the street; museum ≈ €13–15
- [Palazzo Barberini](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/palazzo-barberini) — YesGo score 37/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 2 h · ≈ €15
- [Villa Farnesina](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/villa-farnesina) — YesGo score 37/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · ≈ €12
- [Palazzo Massimo](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/palazzo-massimo) — YesGo score 34/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 2 h · ≈ €10–12 combined ticket
- [MAXXI](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/maxxi) — YesGo score 32/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 2 h · ≈ €12–15
- [Ostia Antica](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/ostia-antica) — YesGo score 31/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 3 h · ≈ €12–18

## Antiquity by Termini

Palazzo Massimo's bronzes and frescoes, then the Baths of Diocletian and Michelangelo's basilica on the same ticket.

1. [Palazzo Massimo](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/palazzo-massimo) — YesGo score 34/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 2 h · ≈ €10–12 combined ticket
2. [Baths of Diocletian](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/baths-of-diocletian) — YesGo score 42/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Basilica free; museum ≈ €10–12
3. [Santa Maria della Vittoria](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/santa-maria-della-vittoria) — YesGo score 46/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 20 min · Free

## Don't mix it up

Palazzo Massimo by Termini isn't Palazzo Massimo alle Colonne on Corso Vittorio Emanuele, a private family palace. The museum is Palazzo Massimo alle Terme.

## Tips

- Hardly any queues — masterpieces without crowds.
- Livia's garden is on the third floor.
- One ticket covers four museum sites.
- Closed on Mondays.

## Questions

### How much is Palazzo Massimo?

It's on the National Roman Museum combined ticket, about €10–12.

### What are the opening hours?

Tuesday–Sunday around 9:30–19:45; closed Monday.

### What are the highlights?

The Boxer at Rest, the Discobolus, Livia's garden frescoes, mosaics and coins.

### Where is Palazzo Massimo?

On Largo di Villa Peretti, 3 minutes from Termini station.

### What does the combined ticket include?

Palazzo Massimo, the Baths of Diocletian, Palazzo Altemps and the Crypta Balbi.

### How long do you need?

About two hours.

## How we checked

Collection and building history from English Wikipedia. Ticket price and hours weren't confirmed on the official site — hence the 'checking' badge.

## Sources

- National Roman Museum (Museo Nazionale Romano, Italian Ministry of Culture)
- English Wikipedia, Palazzo Massimo alle Terme and Boxer at Rest

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