The establishment of the Accademia de i Pittori e Scultori di Roma was approved by papal brief in 1577, and in 1593 Federico Zuccari became its first principe or director; the statutes were ratified in 1607.

From the late sixteenth century until it moved to its present location at the Palazzo Carpegna, it was based in an urban block by the Roman Forum and although these buildings no longer survive, the Academy church of Santi Luca e Martina, does.

The Academy's predecessor was the Compagnia di San Luca, a guild of painters and miniaturists, which met in the demolished church of S.Luca all'Esquilino, near the Basilica of S. Mary Major,[3] and whose statutes and privileges were renewed 17 December 1478 by Pope Sixtus IV.

[5] In the 1620s, Urban VIII extended its rights to decide who was considered an artist in Rome, and in 1627 it came under the patronage of his nephew, Cardinal Francesco Barberini.

[6]: 17 At some after 1634, during the time when Pietro da Cortona was principe, the accademia began to admit architects, who enjoyed the same status as painters and sculptors.

[citation needed] Due to the construction of Via dell'Impero, the academy's historic headquarters on Via Bonella was demolished and in 1934 the institution moved to Palazzo Carpegna.

The Academy can also boast modern members, including sculptors Ernesto Biondi, Piccirilli Brothers, and architect Angelo Torricelli.