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ROME
Museums
Borghese Gallery (via Pinciana)
Constructed according to the plans of Giovanni Vasanzio between 1613 and 1615 for the cardinal Scipione Borghese, this was the greatest collection of art for its time.
The collection was continued by Marcantonio Borghese, then by Camillo Borghese, husband of Paolina Bonaparte, and finally by Luigi Canina. In 1902 it was acquired by the State. Crossing the portico, one enters the Salon, with its richly-painted ceiling and floor decorated with Roman mosaics of the second century.
To the right one enters the first room, where one can admire the nineteenth-century statue of Paolina Borghese by Canova. In other rooms one finds the David of Bernini (1623-24), Apollo and Daphne, the Rape of Proserpina, Aeneas, Anchise and Ascanio, all by Bernini.
From the Room of the Emperors one reaches the famous Gallery, in which one finds many celebrated masterpieces, including the Deposition by Raphael, a crucifix by Pinturicchio, the Virgin with Child and Saint John by Lorenzo di Credi, Saint John the Baptist by Bronzino, David with the head of Goliath by Caravaggio, the Deposition by Rubens, Sacred and Profane Love by Tiziano and other paintings of great value. |
