a Barberini bee in the railings outside palazzo Barberini (now the galleria nazionale d'arte antica), via Barberini, Rome, Italy

the  Barberini dynasty was among Rome’s greatest patrons of the arts

the family reached the height of its power in the 17th century when Cardinal Maffeo Barberini became Pope Urban VII

under his commission, artists turned the city into a showcase of Baroque

 the family’s coat of arms is three bees in a V-formation and they decorate buildings and paintings all over the city

the Barberini first arrived from Florence in the late 16th century, where they went by the name Tafani (horsefly)

they soon changed their name and out went the unattractive old insect and in flew the ancient royal symbol of a bee

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