Their urban palace, the Palazzo Barberini, completed in 1633 by Bernini, today houses Italy's Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica (National Gallery of Ancient Art).

Ordinarily, his estate would have been "fined" by the Camera Apostolica for operating a business while holding church office but his relatives successfully appealed to the head of the organization Francesco had, himself, once directed.

[3] When the pope removed the ancient bronze beams from the portico of the Pantheon to procure bronze for the baldachin of St. Peter's Basilica and for the papal cannon foundry, an anonymous critic punningly wrote:[5] Quod non fecerunt barbari, fecerunt BarberiniThis translates to "What the barbarians did not do, the Barberini did".

The war produced no clear victor, and Pope Urban died in 1644, only months after a peace accord was signed.

Antonio and Taddeo left first, by sea, but not before hanging the French coat of arms above the door of the Palazzo Barberini to confirm they were under the protection of France.

Taddeo's wife, Anna Colonna also joined her husband and children in Paris but not before making a passionate appeal (in person) to the Pope, urging him not to strip the Barberini of their assets.

[3] In Paris, they relied on the hospitality of Louis XIV, King of France, until 1653 when most of the family finally returned to Rome.

The will of Urbano Barberini's last wife, Maria Teresa Boncompagni, makes mention of this Maffeo Callisto as the Marquis of Corese.

The family were also important early patrons of opera, maintaining "star" singers like Marc'Antonio Pasqualini on payroll, and building the private Teatro delle Quattro Fontane.

The cultural influence of the dynasty was considerable, and provided the subject for a major international conference in December 2004 (and subsequent publication), entitled I Barberini e la Cultura Europea.