Borghese Gallery (Galleria Borghese )
WWW.TOURINROME.INFO
The reopening to the public of the Borghese
Gallery, has been greeted as the most
important event which has taken place in the
art world in recent years.
This superb Seventeenth century collection
gathered by the homonymous Cardinal is not
practically unharmed but also enriched by
historical items added at the end of the
Eighteenth century.
The building was threatened by serious problems
of stability and considered unfit for use for a
long time because of the widespread
hydrogeologic disorder that has affected the
whole area, therefore the villa was
closed for long time.
This has prevented Romans and tourists
from enjoying one of the richest and most
elegant museums that the Capital
can boast.
The building is a typical example of "villa
of the delights" of Renaissance
memory, the splendid suburban residence
situated outside the Pinciana Gate is one
of the few examples of that belt of patrician
residences swept away during the building
boom which occurred after the annexation of
Rome to the Reign of Italy.
It providentially escaped one of the typical I
real estate speculations of that time, and was
acquired by the Italian State in 1902 along with
its collections, the property of the park
was only subsequently transferred to the City of
Rome.
The original nucleus of the villa was
built at the beginning of the Eighteenth century
when Scipione Borghese, an unrivalled
patron and collector, became a cardinal of
Pope Paul V and therefore the beneficiary of
large incomes.
He then decided to transform an ancient,
anonymous Sixteenth century vineyard into the
prestigious suburban family residence and
a place for cultural and mundane pleasures
enriched by an unlimited collection of
ancient marbles and creations of both famous
and promising artists then working in Rome.
The result was a building projected by the
architects Flaminio Ponzio and
Vasanzio, and carried out between 1613 and
1615.
The mansion has a U shaped plan on
the model of the Sixteenth century Villa
Farnesina at the Lungara, with an antique facade
which is completely encrusted with basreliefs
and ancient statues.
By contrast the sobriety of the interiors was
meant to create a neutral background against
which the superb art collection could
stand out. Interestingly the artworks
were not always gathered by lawful means: "acquisitions"
enforced during the night (as in the case of the
famous Bagioni Deposition by Raffaello),
paintings extorted under threat of jail (as
happened to the Domenichino) or
generously withdrawing from the treasury of the
Apostolic Chamber allowed to gather works of
exceptional value, that still today dazzle
visitors with their beauty, in the mansion.
Such works as those by ancient artists such as
Raffaello, Perugino, Dosso
Dossi, Beccafumi, Sodoma,
Lotto, Bronzino, Niccola
dell'Abate, Parmigianino, and works
by contemporary artists such as Reni,
which are apparently 35 meters long, probably
had a moralizing meaning intended to warn the
visitor about the trick on the senses and about
the illusoriness of the ground size.
The work is evidence of the cardinal's strong
scientific interests while the gallery,
which was located on the piano nobile in
rooms which were expressly created for
exhibiting works, gave substance to the
cardinal's artistic preferences. other members
of the family added their contributions to the
first nucleus of works, such as: Virginio
and Orazio Spada (the former was the
husband of Maria Varalli who had to bring
a dowry of old and modern works of considerable
importance for the collection), as well
as Cardinal Filippo Spada, Bernardino's
great-grandson who lived at the beginning of the
eighteenth century.
The gallery was restored to the state in
1951 after patient recuperation work of the
material lost during the Second World War
was carried out. The picture gallery occupies
four large frescoed halls which also include old
and modern fittings, furniture and marble; the
ensemble thus successfully restores the
characteristic appearance of the private
collections of the seventeenth century where the
paintings, arranged on the walls in successive
rows, aspire to outlining, in an integrated and
harmonious way, rooms with a clearly decorative
aspect.
The collection includes important
examples of seventeenth century paintings with
works by Reni, Guercino,
Carracci, Domenichino, Solimena,
Preti and the Artemisia Gentileschi,
as well as important pieces by the Nordic
school (Bamboccio and Valentini), and
a valuable Titian.
One of the most important works is the sketch
created by Baciccia for the fresco in
the dome of the church of Jesus, while two
splendid chandeliers in Murano glass in
the third room and the maps of the world by
Dutch cartographer Guglielmo Bleau stand out
among the items on display.
Information and Addresses
Address Piazza Capodiferro, 13
Visiting Hours Every day from 8.30 am to 730 pm
(the ticket office closes half an hour before the
schedule closing time)
Closed Monday, Dec. 25, Ja n. 1
Price € 5,00; concessions € 2,50; free
admittance for those aged under 18 and over 65 (EU)
For
Tours information
– private guided tours – special entrances, no waiting in
line - VIP services
www.tourinrome.com
www.vaticanmuseuminformation.com
www.vaticanmuseumticket.com
|
