Museo del Prado presents the reconstruction of a Roman chapel with Carracci frescoes

Madrid's Museo del Prado has brought the Herrera Chapel back to life, a vanished jewel of 17th-century Italian Baroque art. This reconstructed space allows visitors to walk among the original frescoes by Annibale Carracci and his disciples, and to experience the solemn atmosphere of an ancient Roman temple.

The chapel was part of the Church of Santiago de los Españoles in Rome, but in 1833 it had to be dismantled because of the risk of collapse. Almost two centuries later, the Prado, with the collaboration of architect Francisco Bocanegra, has recreated its interior, respecting the arrangement and visual effect of the frescoes as they were conceived.

In total, seven frescoes painted between 1602 and 1605 have been preserved, recounting episodes from the life of San Diego de Alcalá. These works make up an exceptional group of Italian Baroque art, while the remaining original frescoes travelled to Barcelona and are now kept at the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya. Thanks to this reconstruction, visitors can appreciate for the first time in a long time how the chapel looked in all its splendour.