Borghese Gallery, Rome

Located in the vast Villa Borghese grounds just outside the Pinciana Gate (Via Veneto), the Gallery is the creation of the Cardinal Nipote (nephew) Scipione Cafarelli Borghese (1576-1633) whose uncle was Camillo Borghese known as Pope Paul V (1605-21). The Gallery is largely unchanged today with its original core still intact. The building is built according to the suburban architectural model of the Classical age, it is conceived from the beginning as a microcosm of every form of art. The Borghese family used it as a seat for its diplomatic enterprises and to allow Cardinal Scipione's passion for collecting. The enormous park of the Villa Borghese was acquired by the purchase of many parcels of land just outside the Aurelian Walls of Rome prior to 1609. Originally vineyards, he went about transforming it all into formal gardens in the manner of the 17th century.

Entrance to the park of the Villa Borghese at the Aurelian walls and the Pinciana Gate.

Entrance to the Gallery is by reservation only and tickets must be purchased in advance, often days ahead. The wealth of the collection is overwhelming for any visitor, the opulence is over the top, it conveys to the visitor the image of the power and the wealth of the Borghese Family. Many artists of the time came under the patronage of the Borghese Family and of Pope Paul V, Bernini and Caravaggio to name two.

Galleria  Borghese on a summer day, facade as it has been since 1903.

If you visit the Borghese Gallery take an audio guide, it is well worth it. It will tell you not only the story of the collection but also how Cardinal Scipione went about acquiring the works, he used threats, bullying, prison and the power of his uncle the Pope to get what he wanted. Given that Rome came within the rule of the Papal States at the time, the wishes of a person like Cardinal Scipione were nothing less than direct orders to the people under him. The position of Cardinal Nipote was basically the number two of the Holy See. It also gave him enormous wealth and unlimited funds to buy just about any art work he wanted.

While visiting I learned that several of the Caravaggio's were given to Cardinal Scipione, two of them, the boy with the fruit basket and the Bacchus malato were in the house of Cesare D'arpino, the teacher of Caravaggio. Cardinal Scipione had him arrested on the pretext that he had ammunition and prohibited weapons in his house, Scipione threw him in jail and Cesare D'arpino faced a possible death sentence. However if he was willing to give up the paintings the Cardinal wanted, all could be forgiven and forgotten. He gave the paintings to the Cardinal and all ended well for everyone concerned.  The same thing happened to another painter Dominichino who had painted a figure of the Goddess Diana for Cardinal Aldobrandini. Cardinal Scipione used his position to get that painting.

the sick Bacchus, a self-portrait of Caravaggio at 31. He will be dead by the age of 37.

Boy with the basket of fruits. His name was Mario, a Sicilian from Syracusa and he was a close friend of Michealangelo Merisi Caravaggio

The inside decoration of the Gallery today is the work of another Borghese, Marc Antonio Borghese who in the period 1776-1800 had the intricate colored marble in-laid floors installed and all the ceilings painted with allegorical scenes of ancient mythology, the walls are also decorated with grotesque designs, various marble and other rich decorations all this to enhance the already rich furnishings and the wealth of the art collections.

The Gallery is also used to present as is the case now other collections, at this time there is an exhibit of 60 works by Lucas Cranach the Elder, the master of Northern European Renaissance Art. So one can compare Italian Renaissance with German Renaissance art, it makes for a too rich exhibit, the brain overloads quickly with such sensory stimulation. The works on display are priceless and unique, security is tight, visitors must check before entering all bags including ladies handbags, no food, no drinks allowed, no cameras, etc... There are lots of guards around, mostly in civilian clothes so they can be more discreet, only a small badge identifies them as staff.

Gallery Borghese entrance from the park

Despite the crowds initially at the entrance door, all in all I found that the visit goes very smoothly, quietly, people speak softly.  You are given 2 hours to visit the museum but usually after one hour most visitor on the  scheduled visit have already left, leaving an almost empty museum to oneself to contemplate the works of art at leisure until the next group is scheduled to enter.

Detail of the Villa Borghese Park with the towers of the Villa Medici

Once the visit completed you exit unto the beautiful gardens and the splendor of the sight continues to accompany you. The museum is not a building by itself but is surrounded by two secret gardens of rare plants and flowers of the period of Cardinal Scipione (open only to pre-arranged escorted tours) and an imposing aviary once housing rare exotic birds as was also the fashion of the 17th century in Italy. Cardinal Scipione wanted a complete  Theater of the Universe, a collection of wonders.  The Villa Borghese was open to the public in 1903 but it is really only since 1997 that we are able to see it in the splendor of the time of Cardinal Scipione.

I got the book on the different works of art in the collection, there are so many it is difficult to remember all the details.  I find that being surrounded by such beauty is very relaxing and transports you to another world, the classical age, which appeals to me, I also learned about the secret gardens and their history.
I can think of Tivoli and the gardens of the Cardinal d'Este a UNESCO site with its water organ playing music of the Renaissance and of other such great garden in Italy that we have visited. Such wondrous places all.