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A Guide To The Borghese Gallery In Rome

The city centre of Rome can certainly get very crowded and noisy, especially during the peak tourist seasons and if you are wanting to escape from the big city noise and intensity, a good place to head for is the Borghese Gardens, Rome’s “Central Park.

“Romans are very proud of their generous green spaces and this sprawling park has long offered people of Rome a tranquil place to relax, unwind and let their children run wild.

Borghese Gallery RomeThe centre piece of this amazing park is the Borghese Gallery itself. Once the lavish mansion of a Cardinal, yet today it welcomes the public to enjoy its full splendour. Just like many other tops sights and attractions throughout Europe’s, admission requires prior reservation. Securing a reservation to the gallery is very simple and can be done either by making a quick phone and booking your admission or by visiting the web site and you get an entry time.

The gallery is now home to the largest collection of works by Carravaggio and is a must see if you are in Rome.

The Borghese family were very wealthy and acquired a large number of art works to which they kept in their 17th century Villa. This was the age when the rich and powerful not only collected beautiful art but actually employed leading artists of the time to spruce up their homes. Cardinal Borghese was the pope’s nephew and one of the wealthiest people in Rome at the time. With an unlimited amount of money at his disposal, his palace dazzled with both fine art of the past, including Raphael’s exquisite “Deposition,” and with the best art of the day.

When you enter the gallery, you will notice that each room inside the mansion has a masterpiece at its centre. These masterpieces include look at Napoleon’s sister, Pauline, by Canova which looks lifelike with its polished marble. Another centre pice is Bernini’s “David” which is textbook Baroque. The figure is bursting with life and David’s body is in such a position as he gets readywound like a to slay the giant. Bernini was aged just twenty five when he sculpted this masterpice —and the face of David is his. Carravaggio also addressed the same topic on canvas and this can been seen on the walls in the gallery. Taking the same opportunity, the artist Carravaggio also adds a self-portrait but this time as the head of Goliath.

Throughout the gallery you can see the great works from the Baroque age including sculpture of Pluto dragging Persephone to the underworld as hi three-headed dog howls triumphantly.

One of the main attractions inside the gallery is Bernini’s “Apollo Chasing Daphne”.

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