The Accademia Nazionale di San Luca, a society of distinguished Italian and foreign painters, sculptors, and architects, established as a center for training and innovation in the 16th century, still today maintains its commitment to promote and enhance the arts.

Since 1934, the Academy has been located in Palazzo Carpegna, the subject of an ambitious expansion project by Francesco Borromini, unfortunately significantly reduced due to the changing circumstances of the client, resulting in only the completion of the portico, the portal with decorative frieze, and the helical ramp connecting the floors.

On the third floor of the Palace is the Academic Gallery, whose layout, radically revised in 2000, was informed by the criterion of immediately and effectively conveying the very idea of the Academy over the centuries. The current exhibition reflects the main themes of almost five hundred years of the institution's history (one of the oldest in Europe), with a particularly rich documentation of its most relevant activity, namely the training of painters, sculptors, and architects, an activity that had its main foundation in the practice of drawing.

Among the cultural initiatives promoted by the Accademia Nazionale di San Luca are the publication of volumes related to the Academy and its history; the organization of temporary exhibitions in the palace's exhibition spaces; the restoration and loan of works from the academic collections for national and international exhibitions; the presentation of books and the hosting of conferences and symposiums.