The Barberini Bees

The three heraldic bees of the Barberini family, window in the church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli, Rome
Santa Maria in Aracoeli
Has any pope left a greater mark on the fabric of Rome than Urban VIII (r. 1623-44), whose bees swarm all over the Eternal City!

Urban VIII belonged to the Barberini family, whose coat of arms takes the form of three bees. The family hailed from Barberino Val d'Elsa, a small village near Florence, and were originally called the Tafani da Barberino. Tafani is the Italian word for horseflies, and it was images of horseflies rather than bees that originally graced the family's coat of arms.

​As the family moved up the social ladder, transferring first to Florence and then to Rome, they dropped the first part of their name and replaced the horseflies with bees, an insect with a much better pedigree in the arcane world of symbols. 

Pope Urban VIII was a prolific patron of the arts and during his two decades as pope the Barberini bees popped up in every form, from stucco to stained glass. 
Bees adorn the entrance to the church of Santi Luca e Martina, Rome.
Santi Luca e Martina
Bees on the clock of the Palazzo della Sapienza, Rome
Palazzo della Sapienza
Fountain of the Bees, Via Veneto, Rome
Fountain of the Bees, Via Veneto
Coat of arms of Pope Urban VIII (r. 1623-44), Triton Fountain, Rome
Triton Fountain, Piazza Barberini
A single bee forms part of the capital of a column of the portico of the Pantheon, Rome
Portico of the Pantheon
Three bees form part of the decoration of the pavement, the Lateran Baptistery, Rome
Lateran Baptistery