Borghese Gallery

In the heart of the Villa Borghese is the Borghese Gallery, a superb collection of artwork ranging from Roman statues to eighteenth century paintings. It was originally the personal collection of Scipione Borghese, a cardinal with a passion for art who would stop at nothing to get his hands on a masterpiece. After taking a fancy to a Raphael painting in a church in Perugia, he promptly had it removed and displayed in his personal villa.

Treasures of the Borghese Gallery include the Roman statue of the Sleeping Hermaphrodite, and Canova’s sculpture of Pauline Borghese as Venus. Many of the rooms on the ground floor are dedicated to the works of the Baroque genius Bernini, such as The Rape of Proserpina and Apollo and Daphne. The elegant, sumptuously decorated rooms of the villa are the perfect setting for Bernini’s masterpieces, and as you walk around the statues, admiring them from every angle, you start to understand the full extent of Bernini’s talent. Many of the statues are incredibly lifelike, and Apollo and Daphne seems to capture the exact moment that Daphne transforms into a tree. A trip to the Borghese Gallery is a much more relaxing experience than some of the other famous museums and galleries in Rome, due to the lack of crowds and the manageable size of the gallery. Tickets must be bought in advance, and a guided tour or audio guide is recommended.
Getting there
You could walk from Spagna (metro line A), taking a pleasant stroll through the Villa Borghese to reach the gallery.