Galleria Borghese

We managed to get a ticket for Jan to join a tour of Villa Borghese after we accidentally booked for the three of us on the wrong date. Doug decided to go to Ostia Antica and Nancy went as a "companion" with Jennifer (City Tours) who arranged for her to enter free of charge. Nancy concluded she got a lot out of her second visit there (having gone in 2019), in part due to familiarity and review and also due to the excellent guided tour by a PhD in Art History.

Cardinal Scipione Borghese, nephew of Pope Paul V, commissioned and collected masterpieces of art into his private palazzo which became an art gallery and was sold to the Italian government in 1902 along with the estate.

On the tour, we heard of the history of all the major pieces. Bernini's sculptures were a highlight. He started carving Apollo (god of music and poetry) and Daphne (a virginal nymph) when he was 23. Through the Vatican approved depiction of mythological characters; this contemporary theme of unwanted desire was considered to push the limits of acceptability, leading to the added inscription commissioned by Pope Urban VIII: "Those who love to pursue fleeting forms of pleasure, in the end find only leaves and bitter berries in their hands". David with the intense forward looking profile of the "Renaissance Man". Pauline, sister of Napoleon lying reclined in Roman style.

Also a highlight were a number of masterpieces by Caravaggio (1571-1610): He was a controversial, popular and influential painter for the technique he used which used shadow to emphasize lighter areas and his use of "common people". His subjects were often from the poor or outcast populations of Rome placed within the context of accepted biblical scenes.Read more