Borghese Gallery Guided Tour
You can book a place on a guided tour where you will be met outside the gallery entrance and taken on a two hour guided tour by an expert guide. The tour is conducted in English and costs 45 Euros for adults. The tour must be booked in advance as there are limited spaces available on each tour.
Construction of the Mansion
The original building was the design of the architect Flaminio Ponzio who began the building in 1612 before he passed away the following year. The work was then completed by Giovanni Vasanzio who added a U-shaped terrace and decorated the building with niches, openings, reliefs and classic statues.
Design of the Gardens
The redesign of the gardens into an English style was ordered by Prince Marcoantonio IV Borghese and was completed between 1730 and 1800 to include sculptures and antiques. By the end of the 18th century it became part of the public museum.
Transferred to the Italian State
By 1902, the Borghese family was unable to meet the costs of maintaining the villa and the entire collection was sold to the Italian State. The following year, in 1903 the gardens were sold as a separate entity to the City of Rome. The gardens then became a park for public use.
Later restoration
The mansion underwent a complete restoration between 1995 and 1997 including the rebuilding of the double staircase on the portico in addition to major interior work.
Why the Borghese Gladiator is in Paris.
In 1808, due to a deficit in the family legacy of Borghese, Prince Camillo Borghese, the brother in law of Napoleon sold several sculptures and antiquities to the French Emperor. This is the reason, why, the Borghese Gladiator, one of the collections most admirable statues is currently on show at Paris’s Louvre Museum.
What is the museums most famous piece of art?
Throughout the 20 highly decorated rooms of the museum, pride of place goes to the piece known as the Venus Victoriana. This piece dates from 1805 and is also known by another name, ‘Paulina Bonaparte.’