Borghese Gallery Private Tour

The tour will start with the history of this precious collection and the beautiful mansion that displays it. You’ll be intrigued by the jaw-dropping life stories of the cardinal Scipione Borghese, one of the most colorful personalities of Rome and a powerful patron of art who has created this very museum by the collecting, commissioning and even stealing of artworks.

You’ll be impressed by the controversial baroque bad-boy Caravaggio, a genius of art but also a criminal arrested for murder. His personality is written in his darkly dramatic and blatantly realistic paintings that have changed the course of art history. A particularly intense example is his gruesome self-portrait on the chopped head of Goliath that David showed proudly to the spectators.

The real superstar of the gallery, however, is behind the sculptures. Bernini was the most influential sculptor of baroque Rome who has left his indelible marks from the Trevi Fountain to St. Peter’s Square. A favorite of the cardinal, he has created stunningly beautiful works for the Borghese palace like the Rape of Proserpina and Apollo and Daphne, which captured the fleeting moment of movement in space and magically transformed the marble into flesh. It is an unforgettably moving experience seeing his statues close-up.

Other highlights include Raphael’s Entombment and Lady with Unicorn that embody the ideal of Renaissance beauty. As the collection is highly manageable, this 2-hour visit will allow you to see all of the rooms at an unhurried pace and to fall in love with art like never before.