Scipione Borghese: the cardinal collector
Scipione Caffarelli Borghese (1577–1633) was the nephew of Pope Paul V, and within a few years became one of the most powerful figures in papal Rome. His position gave him privileged access to artists, art dealers and — when necessary — the judicial proceedings he could use to extract works from private individuals and institutions.
His technique was refined: when he could not purchase a work, he found other means of obtaining it. In 1607 he confiscated a fresco cycle from Domenichino at Villa Aldobrandini. In 1608 he commissioned the outright theft of Raphael's Deposition, stolen from Città di Castello by night and brought to Rome. For Caravaggio, who was a fugitive from Rome after a killing, he obtained two extraordinary works in exchange for his influence in accelerating a papal pardon — which never came.
The villa: construction and transformations
The villa was built between 1613 and 1616 to a design by architect Flaminio Ponzio and, after his death, by Jan van Santen (Giovanni Vasanzio). It was not an ordinary residence but a casino dei piaceri — a pleasure house for entertaining, impressing visitors, and displaying the collection.
The design was revolutionary: rather than building traditional galleries, Scipione wanted the sculptures placed in open, well-lit rooms where each work could be admired from multiple angles. The original placement of Bernini's sculptures — conceived for specific spaces — remains largely unchanged today.
Bernini and Scipione: an exceptional patronage
Between 1618 and 1625, Gian Lorenzo Bernini created for Scipione the four sculptures that still dominate the ground floor:
- Aeneas, Anchises and Ascanius (1618–1619)
- Rape of Proserpina (1621–1622)
- Apollo and Daphne (1622–1625)
- David (1623–1624)
Bernini was under 25 when he completed the last three. The speed of execution and technical quality were unprecedented in the history of sculpture. Scipione was the patron who allowed Bernini to become Bernini.
The decline: sale to Napoleon and recovery
In 1807 Prince Camillo Borghese, husband of Pauline Bonaparte, sold 344 antiquities from the collection to Napoleon for 8 million francs. These works are now in the Louvre. The paintings and Bernini sculptures remained.
In 1902 the Italian state acquired the villa and collection from the Borghese family. Decades of partial neglect followed: the villa was never entirely abandoned, but necessary restorations were repeatedly postponed. Only between 1990 and 1997 did a complete restoration of the villa take place, resulting in the current museum, which opened to the public in 1997.
The Borghese in culture
The villa appeared in literature and art as a symbol of Roman papal luxury and power. Henry James mentioned it in Italian Hours; Stendhal visited and wrote about it in Promenades dans Rome. In the twentieth century it became one of the canonical sites of the intellectual Grand Tour.
Apollo and Daphne has inspired countless representations of the Ovidian myth; Canova's Pauline Borghese is perhaps the most reproduced neoclassical sculpture in the world. The David with the sling has entered the collective imagination alongside Michelangelo's David, against which it is often discussed: Bernini captures movement, Michelangelo captures thought.
With a private driver
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Frequently asked questions
Why does the Borghese have so many Caravaggios? Scipione was one of Caravaggio's principal patrons between 1600 and 1606. After Caravaggio was banished from Rome following the killing of Ranuccio Tomassoni, he continued sending works to Scipione in hope of obtaining a papal pardon.
Are the works sold to Napoleon still at the Louvre? Yes. The 344 pieces from the Borghese antiquities collection are held in the Louvre's Department of Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities and have never returned to Italy.
When did the museum open to the public? The current museum opened in 1997, after a restoration lasting approximately seven years. Previously it was visitable only by appointment with very limited access.
Article no. 176 — TIER S — MON-09 Borghese Gallery Type: HISTORICAL Words: ~730