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Galleria Borghese, Rome
I cannot recommend this gallery highly enough.
It was originally the Villa Borghese,
an entertainment home for Cardinal Scipio Borghese which housed the many works
of art he collected, especially by Bernini and Caravaggio. It now also contains
an incredible selection of works by Titian, Rubens, Correggio, etc. etc. etc.
Entry is by advance booking only, limited to 150 ticketholders who have
exclusive access for a period of two hours. It is fairly small, so two
hours is just about enough, and the limit on simultaneous entry means it
is never crowded once everyone disperses throughout the rooms. Unfortunately,
photography is not permitted, and they were much stricter about watching
this than most places, so I couldn't sneak any pictures like I often did
elsewhere. (I'm so bad.) The works here are stunning. I was particularly
taken by Bernini's sculpture of Apollo and
Daphne, and went back repeatedly to marvel at the detail of Daphne's
transformation, as well as the expressions on the subjects' faces. A catalog
of the gallery's highlights can be found on Wikipedia. If
you go to Rome, this is absolutely a must-see. |
