About Borghese Gallery | Step Into An Immersive World of Art & Culture
Located on Pincian Hill on a beautiful 17th-century estate, the Borghese Gallery has artworks displayed including a priceless collection of masterpieces by once-in-a-generation icons like Bernini, Raphael, Titian, and many others. The artwork at the gallery was once the sole collection of Cardinal Scipione Borghese. Today, the Borghese Gallery has been named one of the top museums in Rome, and here’s why!
What is the Borghese Gallery?
Housed at the Villa Borghese Pinciana, the Borghese Gallery is a famous art gallery in Rome. Situated in the heart of Rome, this iconic and well-stocked museum is home to an array of spectacular paintings and sculptures by famous artists like Raphael, Caravaggio, and Bernini to name a few.
The Borghese Gallery is an eye-opening experience for all the art and non-art fans. You do not need to be an expert in order to appreciate the masterpieces that are on display. Today, the place is one of the most visited attractions in Rome.
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- Official Name: Borghese Gallery and Museum
- Location: Borghese Gallery and Museum, Piazzale Scipione Borghese, 5, 00197 Roma RM, Italy
- Date of Opening: 1902
- Timings: Tuesday to Sunday from 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM; closed on Mondays.
- Architect: Scipione Borghese
- Architectural Style: Ancient Roman
- Number of Visitors Per Year: Half a million people visit every year.
- Collection Size: About 800 paintings.
Where is the Borghese Gallery Located?
Address: Borghese Gallery and Museum, Piazzale Scipione Borghese, 5, 00197 Roma RM, Italy
Located in the heart of Rome, the Borghese Gallery is situated at the Piazzale Scipione Borghese in Rome. You can take a bus to the gallery and get off at Pinciana Museo Borghese stop, which is hardly a 5-minute walk to the venue.
Getting to Borghese GalleryBorghese Gallery Opening Hours
The Borghese Gallery’s opening hours are from 9 AM to 7 PM from Tuesday to Sunday.
The final admission into the gallery is at 5 PM. It remains closed on Mondays.
Best time to visit: You can visit the gallery at any time of the day, but if you are looking to avoid crowds then the best time to visit is early morning or late in the evening. We also recommend visiting during the shoulder season which falls between the months of April, May, September, October, and November.
Know MoreWhy You Should Visit Borghese Gallery?
- You will come face to face with one of the most astounding collections of art in Europe.
- Bernini's legendary sculptures of Apollo and Daphne and Raphael’s The Deposition are a sight to sore eyes.
- You will be ushered with facts and stories about each masterpiece you encounter if you choose a guided tour.
- The artwork at the gallery was once the sole collection of Cardinal Scipione Borghese, an avid art collector.
- The Borghese Gallery is considered to be one of the best art galleries in Rome for its vast collection of Bernini sculptures.
Why is the Borghese Gallery So Famous?
- Borghese Gallery is a top attraction for all art lovers to admire art in a space without much of a crowd in Rome.
- The gallery is packed with some of the most famous Baroque, Renaissance, and Roman masterpieces in the world.
- Inside the gallery are beautiful marble floors, columns, decorated ceilings, frescoes, and more, which are worth admiring.
- It is a world-class art museum that is housed in the former 17th-century garden villa of Cardinal Borghese.
- The art collection includes a lot of major works, but with a manageable size.
- Borghese Gallery has works of famous artists such as Raphael, Bernini, and Caravaggio to name a few.
History of the Borghese Gallery
The Borghese Gallery’s paintings and antique sculptures are outstanding, but the history of the gallery and the family that founded it, is equally interesting. Most of the artwork and antiques displayed out there were contributed by the founders of the museum, the Borghese family.
The Borghese family owned the gallery when it initially started and that’s where it gets its name from. In the 1600s, it was originally used as a country villa called the Villa Borghese Pinciana. The family was a high-profile one whose fame and wealth substantially grew after Camillo Borghese was elected as Pope Paul V in 1604.
His sister’s son, Scipione Borghese, was adopted by him and was an avid collector of modern and ancient art. He began the substantial collection of paintings, antiques, and sculptures, which today make up a large part of the Borghese Gallery.
With the wealth that he acquired as Cardinal, he managed to assemble one of the most impressive art collections in Europe. In 1607, the Cardinal and the Pope confiscated 107 paintings from the studio of the painter Cavalier D’Arpino. The same year the scandal continued when Raphael’s ‘Deposition’ was removed from the Baglioni Chapel in the city of Perugia and brought to Rome to be given to Borghese. It still sits here with the rest of the Borghese collection.
Who Built the Borghese Gallery?
The Galleria Borghese was designed by Scipione Borghese who was an Italian Cardinal, art collector, and a patron of the arts.
The structure of the gallery was commissioned by Cardinal Borghese in 1613 in order to showcase his art collections.
Architecture of the Borghese Gallery
The Borghese Gallery is housed within the Villa Borghese, which was acquired by the Italian government in 1902. Built between 1613 and 1616, the building was designed by a Dutch architect named Jan Van Santen. The architecture surrounding the Villa Borghese is a great and impactful tribute to its time.
Stepping into the place, you are sure to get the vibe of entering another century, a time when the powerful Borghese family ruled Rome by Pope Paul V’s papal authority.
Borghese Gallery Highlights
The Borghese Gallery has hundreds of masterpieces, with the building itself being a work of art. However, here are a few artworks that you do not want to miss on your visit.
Apollo and Daphne by Bernini
This life-sized Baroque marble sculpture is arguably one of the most beautiful sculptures at the Borghese Gallery. It portrays the tragic tale of the God of Archery, Apollo, and the Nymph, Daphne. The sculpture beautifully captures movement and fluidity where one can see Daphne’s transformation from a human to a tree. Bernini has left few parts of her as a woman, while the rest is shown as the bark of a tree that wraps itself around her.
The Rape Of Proserpina by Bernini
This famous work of art by Bernini depicts tragedy in a beautiful manner. In this piece of work, he portrays the tragic abduction of Proserpina at the hands of the God, Pluto. The sculpture is made from a unique Carerra marble that appears to be soft. Influenced by the Baroque style, the sculpture depicts life and can be seen through the delicate details.
Lady With Liocorna by Raphael
The one thing that will draw your attention to Raphael’s Young Woman with a Unicorn is the subject’s eyes. Art history experts have drawn comparisons between this painting and Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. Inspired by Da Vinci, Raphael’s work portrays the subject in a similar pose.
David With the Head of Goliath by Caravaggio
These are Caravaggio’s most personal masterpieces that are worth admiring. After being charged with murder, Caravaggio painted this masterpiece, what experts refer to as a self-portrait. Goliath’s severed head is considered to be his own, with David being the executioner.
Borghese Gallery Tickets & Tours
Frequently Asked Questions About the Borghese Gallery
A. The Borghese Gallery is a prime tourist location in Rome that houses paintings and sculptures by some of the most revered European artists.
A. The Borghese Gallery is located at Piazzale Scipione Borghese, 5, 00197 Roma RM, Italy.
A. The Borghese Gallery is a famous art museum in Rome that is famous for its vast collection of European paintings and sculptures.
A. If you are an art lover, this is the perfect space where you can stroll through the artworks of famous artists like Raphael, Bernini, and Caravaggio to name a few.
A. You can book your Borghese Gallery tickets online.
A. Your Borghese Gallery tickets start from €27.
A. Scipione Borghese is the architect responsible for building the Borghese Gallery.
A. The Borghese Gallery opened in 1902.
A. Within just about 20 rooms in the Villa, you will get an insight into antiquities, Renaissance art, as well as the beginnings of Baroque art.
A. The Borghese Gallery hours are from 9 AM to 7 PM daily.
A. There are many masterpieces inside the Borghese Gallery such as The Hunt of Diana by Domenichino, The Young Sick Bacchus by Caravaggio, Melissa by Dosso Dossi, David with the Head of Goliath by Caravaggio, and Cupid complaining to Venus by Lucas Cranach.
A. Cardinal Scipione, a leading patron of art in Rome used his position to begin a private collection of artworks. This space was used to exhibit a large collection of various arts that attracted a large number of tourists.
A. The Borghese Gallery is a gem that is worth seeing when you’re in Rome. Its collections are housed in a beautiful 17th-century villa and offer a compact course in Italian aesthetics.
