Villa Borghese

Thursday, December-16-10  10:15PM

Our big treat today was to walk about the enormous parks of the Villa Borghese and to spend an hour in the Galleria Borghese – its museum of fine art. Cardinal Borghese, a wealthy clergyman from a noble family built a villa on about 109 acres of land just outside the walls of Rome in the early 17^th century. He was a great collector and patron of the arts and his acquisitions form the core of the works currently owned by the Galleria. During the tourist season one could not gain access to the Galleria without reservations made well in advance. It opens at 9:00AM and groups are allowed in only every two hours. We arrived about 11:45 but because the place was not at all crowded we were able to buy tickets and go in immediately – but –we had to leave at 1:00. It was fabulous. The Galleria was filled with sculptures by Bernini, many of his most famous ones, like the Rape of Proserpine and Apollo and Daphne. Most of the sculptures were in marble but there was also a bronze and one in terracotta.  Most of Bernini’s pieces were placed in the centre of large rooms, allowing the visitor to see the detail from all angles – and the detail – from strands of hair, to fingernails, to powerful expressions of emotion, were astonishing.

On the walls were pieces of the permanent exhibit – many by Caravaggio, Titan, Raphael, and other of their contemporaries. A special exhibit was being shown on the second floor by another 17^th artist of whom I was unaware, named Cranach. It was so interestingly put together. His main focus had been on portraiture, usually of particular wealthy patrons and members of their families, but he also painted allegorical pieces or ones taken from the Bible or from mythology. His portrait of the Suicide of Lucretia (Borgia, I’m assuming) was placed next to those of other artists of his period – highlighting ways that the different artists would approach the subject. Lucretia appeared pathetic, sad, or defiant in various pieces. This comparative method was used with a number of his works. There were boards giving background information on the artist and particular themes and concerns shown in his art, and the way, for example, he was able to introduce elements of power in relation to women, something rarely found in earlier artists.

The Galleria is itself housed in, I believe, the original villa. I am not positive as there are many buildings of a grand nature on the property, but I do think so. The place is beautifully proportioned with large airy rooms radiating from a central foyer. The ceilings are painted colourfully with scenes from mythology; the floors and wall supports are of marble; in some places, mosaics are embedded in the floors. Around the periphery of each room are antique classical statues, Roman and Greek, mainly from about the 2^nd century AD. One room is decorated in true Bacchanalian style, with statues and paintings high up on the walls cavorting with satyrs, laughing and enjoying the fruit of the vine. The sense of the house is that it was built and lived in by a man who was grounded in earthly delights and who enjoyed the pleasures of entertainment.  A gorgeous place.

Besides the Galleria there are several other museums on the property, a zoo, a special area for small children, numerous glades and walks in which to simply enjoy nature, a copy of the Globe Theatre where Shakespearean plays are launched, and, a building for scholars to meet and study the various works available there. The Villa Borghese is situated just above the huge Piazza Del Popolo with its central Egyptian obelisk. Rallies and concerts are held there throughout the year. Mark and I arrived in the area by subway from the Termini and walked about the Piazza before heading up the long staircases to the hill on which the Villa is situated. To get to the Galleria we walked about 20 minutes along tree-lined pathways to the far side of the area.

Tomorrow is another day of travel. We will take a train from the Termini mid-morning out to the airport to catch our Egyptair flight to Cairo. We will arrive about 6PM and be met by a representative of Gap Adventures, the group that we will travel with for 12 days. We are looking forward very much to arriving in Egypt – a really unknown area for us. Tune in again and I’ll give you the low-down.

Once again, remember to scroll to the bottom for more photos. If you wish to leave a comment on this or any other post, click on the space just below where it says 0 Comments. I would love to hear from any of you. Best wishes and stay warm. Cheers. Brenda.