THE BORGHESE GALLERY, ROME, ITALY - INFORMATION AND BOOKING

THE BORGHESE GALLERY, ROME, ITALY - VISITOR INFORMATION

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'One of the most beautiful museums in Italy, if not the world ...'

HISTORY AND CONTENTS OF THE GALLERY:

Scipione Caffarelli Borghese, son of Ortensia Borghese was elected to the cardinalate by his Uncle, Camillo Borghese, upon becoming Pope (Paul V) in 1605. Cardinal Scipione was charged with handling diplomatic and cultural affairs at the Papal Court, and rapidly developed an extremely shrewd and voracious eye for collecting works of art. He collected with a passion - often a ruthless one - and his passions were for ancient, Renaissance and contemporary pieces that he hoped would fire a new golden age.

He was especially a collector of antique sculpture, but was also driven enough to patronise modern artists and commissioned work from, amongst others, Caravaggio, Bernini, Domenichino and Rubens.

It was to house the works of these artists, alongside his existing collections, and to have a venue for his summer parties and musical evenings, that work began in the early 1600's on the casino or summer-house that is today the Galleria Borghese. Not surprisingly, no corners were cut in the construction, and the palace is a celebration of the splendours of the ancient Roman Empire.

The building has been modified and extended down the years, and was eventually sold to the Italian government in 1902, along with the entire Borghese estate and surrounding gardens and parkland.

Below you'll find a small selection of some of the most noted works to be viewed at the gallery:

Canova
Pauline Bonaparte

Correggio
Danäe

Domenichino
Diana

Savoldo
Tobias and the Angel

Dosso Dossi
Circe

Raphael
The Deposition

Titian
Sacred & Profane Love

Antonello da Messina
Portrait of a Man

Bernini
Apollo and Daphne

Bernini
Truth

Bernini
David

Bernini
Pluto and Proserpina

Cranach
Venus and Cupid

Rubens
The Deposition

Lorenzo Lotto
Madonna & Child with Saints

Caravaggio
David & head of Goliath

Borghese park

You may view a location map here. And should you be on the lookout for a Rome hotel, you could do far worse than visit the Rome section of ahotelinitaly.com.

		Reserve Borghese Gallery tickets
		Ticket types, opening times, how to gain admission