Borghese gallery tour with your private guide of rome

THE BORGHESE GALLERY TOUR WITH YOUR PRIVATE GUIDE OF ROME

The Borghese Villa was built by the flemish architect Vasanzio in 1613-1615 as residence for the cardinal Scipione Borghese.
Prince Marcantonio Borghese was responsible for the elaborate Neoclassical frescoes on the ceilings and other decoration of the rooms of the ground floor and some of the rooms of the upper floor in the late 1700s. He adapted the interior in 1782 to a museum and gallery. To the collection of antiquities were added the paintings which had been housed in the palazzo Borghese located at the bottom of the Spanish steps.

The Borghese antiquities collection was purchased in 1807 by Napoleon Bonaparte, brother in law of Camillo Borghese ( 1775-1832) who had married Pauline Bonaparte and become a prince of the french imperial family.

The Villa with his content was purchased by the italian state in 1902. Closed since 1983 for repairs, it was finally reopened in summer of 1997 but as precautionary measure the number of visitors is restricted to 150 every 1 hour and half.

Inside this wonder, in the ground floor, you can admire the statues that Bernini carved at the age of 20/25 years old when he was working as private sculptor with his fater Peter for this rich florentine family.

As Bernini grew, his fame reached the years of the cardinal Borghese, favorite nephew of the pope Paul V. Borghese was always searching for new artists to bring to his uncle's attention, and he had seen the bust of the bishop Santoni and wanted to meet the young artist all of Rome was talking about. Borghese was a man of cultivated artistic tastes who had and unsavory reputation for acquiring the art he liked by any means necessary.

If he could not buy a painting or a sculpture he wanted, he resorted to other, less civilized methods, no matter who owned it.

Late one night in 1608, for example, Raphael's "Deposition from the Cross" disappeared suddenly from the church of san Francesco in Perugia and found its way into Borghese's private collection. And the cardinal had the painter Domenichino imprisoned for several days because the artist was foolish enough to refuse to sell him his magnificent Diana. Borghese greatly admired the painting, but Domenichino had committed the unpardonable sin of promising it to Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini, one of Borghese's adversaries. It was not long before Borghese made it clear to Domenichino and to everyone else in Rome, that no one, not even a favored artist, disobeyed the pope's nephew. Borghese got Diana, which still hangs in the Borghese Gallery.
The cardinal Scipione Borghese is buried closed to his uncle pope Paul V in the family chapel located in the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore on the Esquiline Hill ( near Termini Station ).

BORGHESE GALLERY MUSEUM TOUR ITINERARY ( 2 hours )

PRIVATE TOUR

PEOPLE	COST
FROM 1 TO 2 PEOPLE	170 EURO IN TOTAL
FROM 3 TO 5 PEOPLE	65 EURO PER PERSON
FROM 6 TO 10 PEOPLE	55 EURO PER PERSON

THE PRICE INCLUDES

fluent english speaking private tour guide for 2 hours

THE PRICE DOES NOT INCLUDE

taxi transportation from your hotel
entrance fees for the Borghese museum: 10 euro each to pay cash

SPECIFICATIONS

the tour guide use to meet the customers at your hotel if it is centrally located
tour payment will be in cash euro.

THE BORGHESE GALLERY IS CLOSED ON MONDAYS

RESERVATION IN ADVANCE REQUIRED

USEFUL INFORMATIONS FOR A GOOD VISIT OF THE BORGHESE GALLERY

customers are kindly requested to do not carry video and cameras , otherwise it will be time consuming to deposit your belongings in the cloak room. No video nor pictures inside are allowed ;
it's requested to be at the museum at least 20 minutes before the beginning of the visit.
purses, bags and pocketbook are not permitted.