Galleria Borghese

Rome, Italy

The Galleria Borghese is an art gallery housed in the former Villa Borghese Pinciana. At the outset, the gallery building is integrated with its gardens. The Galleria Borghese houses a substantial part of the Borghese collection of paintings, sculpture and antiquities, begun by Cardinal Scipione Borghese, the nephew of Pope Paul V (reign 1605-1621). The Villa was built by the architect Flaminio Ponzio, developing sketches by Scipione Borghese himself.

Scipione Borghese was an early patron of Bernini and an avid collector of works by Caravaggio, who is well represented in the collection by his Boy with a Basket of Fruit, St Jerome Writing, Sick Bacchus and others. Other paintings of note include Titian's Sacred and Profane Love, Raphael's Entombment of Christ and works by Peter Paul Rubens and Federico Barocci.

Also in Villa Borghese gardens or nearby are the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna, which specialises in 19th- and 20th-century Italian art, and Museo Nazionale Etrusco, a collection of pre-Roman objects, mostly Etruscan, excavated around Rome.

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Founded: 1903
Category: Museums in Italy

Rating

4.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Andy Hodge (5 years ago)
DO NOT use this unofficial website as you will end up paying double the amount and you will have to meet the agent to obtain the tickets.
FeRR Otero (5 years ago)
A full range of ancient history and the most important and wonderful artists to see
Rich (5 years ago)
You can't miss going here-both the Gallery and the Gardens are a treasure here in Rome. The Galleries are full with incredible statues from famous artists.
Paul Klein (5 years ago)
A fabulous and varied collection (Raphael, Caravaggio, Bernin, Titian...). The limited number of entrances per 2h period makes the visit really pleasant and allows you to enjoy the works. On the other hand, the cashier was not friendly at all. On the way out, I proposed to a person who wanted to buy a ticket to give her a free extra ticket for the current session that I had bought for my girlfriend (but she couldn't use it because she was sick). The exhibition was full for the day and the next day, and closed the day after, so it was a favor to this person, rather than putting a ticket I had bought in the trash. But the cashier was aggressive and immediately threatened to call security. At first I thought she misunderstood, and explained that I just wanted to give this ticket so that someone could enjoy the museum, but she threatened me again. I can't see any good reason for her to stop me from doing a good deed. The only reason I can see is that she would rather sell one more ticket than let someone enjoy the museum "for free"... We live in a wonderful world, don't we?
Laura Drosopoulos (5 years ago)
The woman at the ticket office with the glasses was very rude. There were no tickets left for the day that I came and that was absolutely fine of course, it can happen. But she seemed very grumpy and cut me off immediately when I came up to her to ask if there were still tickets available, and she was extremely snappy and rude during the quick conversation we had, even though I remained very polite (because what reason is there to not be polite during a conversation like this?) I left very surprised. I hope the management will read this and ask her improve her manners towards prospective visitors.
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