VILLA BORGHESE AND THE BORGHESE GALLERY

Villa Borghese is a large green area in the heart of the city. It is the capital’s third largest park, certainly the most famous and most loved. Villa Borghese has always been the place where Romans (but also tourists) like to walk, run, gather for a picnic and relax in the open air.

Inside Villa Borghese there is also a large zoo, a bio-park, an Elizabethan theatre (the only one in Italy) and numerous museums: amongst them all, the Borghese Gallery and Museum with the beautiful sculptures by Bernini.

Founded by Cardinal Scipione Borghese, who in the early 1600s built this villa to house his collection, the Borghese Gallery is a treasure trove of unique and precious works of art. Inside, there is an unmissable series of sculptures by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (Aeneas, the Rape of Proserpine, Apollo and Daphne, David), the Sacred and Profane Love by Titian, a number of masterpieces by Caravaggio and Princess Pauline Borghese, Napoleon’s favourite sister, portrayed by Canova as Venus Victrix.

Buildings, sculptures, monuments, museums, lakes, Italian gardens surrounded by ancient trees and vast open spaces, Villa Borghese is a fascinating combination of nature and art.