Rome 2026 – Museo Napoleonico – Pope Pius VII arrested

Napoleon had the Pope arrested in 1809 and he held him prisoner in France until 1814. The previous Pope was also arrested by Napoleon.
“The Museo Napoleonico in Rome presents the collections of Count Giuseppe Primoli, the great-grandson of Joseph and of Lucien Bonaparte. Born in 1851 to Princess Charlotte Bonaparte and Count Primoli di Foglia, Giuseppe Primoli belonged to the Roman branch of the imperial family. He spent most of his youth in Paris, at Napoleon III's court and moved to Rome after the fall of the Empire. Totally devoted to his family on his mother's side, he started a collection of works of art and various objects linked with the Bonapartes. The collection – comprising family souvenirs, objects donated by Princess Mathilda and Empress Eugénie, items bought from antique dealers or purchased in auction sales – grew consistently until its owner died in 1927. Count Primoli donated it to the city of Rome where many Bonapartes had sought refuge.”