This is the marble bust of pope Innocent X, one of the numerous wonders host in the amazing Doria-Pamphilj Gallery in Rome. Come here to visit this wonderful place, in order to be surrounded by beauty and art. But now let's discover more about this masterpiece. Who was Innocent X?

He was the pontiff who, in the middle of the XVII century and for the great Jubilee of the 1650, embellished Rome with several works of art. He had also a personality that could be described as a little bit gruff and ill-suited to human contact, but he was, above all, a real gold mine for his family, the Pamphilj. Thanks to him the entire clan was able to acquire palaces, villas and a vast art collection, to which, however, the Pope had placed the so-called fide commissio. What was it? An eternal bond on the works of art and on the movables and real estate, by him taken for the family. The heirs have never been able to sell anything, much less this beautiful bust produced by Bernini.

A curiosity: this is only the first version of the two marble busts created by the artist. If you notice, there is a large and deep crak running through the beard, almost cutting it! Why? We have two versions about the origin of it. The first one tells us that what we have here is simply another example of the so called "pelo" (that in Italian means fur). It is a natural imperfection of the marble that could be revealed after the completation of the work of art. So even the masters saw something like that, simply because it was not related to their talents. But evil rumours say that Bernini, who would like to demonstrate his skill as a sculptor and artist, after this first version made a second bust, perfect and even more beautiful than this. And in a very short time. In Rome we say: "Sò mejo io!" (I'm the best one). What we know is how the two marble busts were sculpted around the 1650, when there was the great  Jubilee. In this case the pope Innocenzo X must be showed as the man who was able to host this important event, being the perfect leader for it. It is the reason why the second  marble bust is, in some degree, better than the first one. We can see how the Pope looks more heroic than the first version, as he feels ready for this important event. Similarly, Bernini did the same thing with the two busts in marble dedicated to Scipione Borghese, his discoverer and patron of the arts, as well as "cardenal nephew", at the time of Urban VIII, between the predecessors of pope Innocent X. So do you see how many surprises could be found in the Doria-Pamphilj Gallery of Rome? Many are the masterpieces, like this one.