Borghese Gallery, Canova’s Masterpieces Skip-the-Line Guided Tour

The best way for us to describe the Villa Borghese gardens is: As the keeper of the Villa Borghese Pinciana, I publicly declare: whoever you are, providing to be a freeman, fear no hindrance here; go where you like, ask what you wish; leave when you want. Everything you see was made more for the guest than for its landlord. In the golden century, when peaceful years made any thing splendid for the refined ones, the landlord forbade all iron rules for the guest. Let good faith be the only rule for our friend. But if someone, consciously and purposely, by wickedness and deceit, was to break the golden rules of courtesy, be alert, the angry keeper may break these friendly words on your head. (Latin inscription carved on marble plate at Villa Borghese).

We will visit one of the world’s most beautiful art museum hosting the works of extraordinary artists such as Bernini, Caravaggio, Canova and Raffaello. The gallery’s most important sculptures and paintings are from Cardinal Scipione Borghese’s collection (1579 - 1633). We’ll admire Caravaggio’s most important paintings, among which “Young sick Bacchus” and “ Boy with a basket of fruit”; Bernini and Canova’s magnificent sculptures’ collection, boasting works like “Apollo and Daphne”, “David”, “The rape of Preserpina” and “Paolina Bonaparte”. Of course we won’t miss out on Raffaello’s “Entombment of Christ”. We will lead you through the marvelous rooms of Casina Borghese, with its splendid frescoes, we’ll disclose the secrets, the stories and the painting techniques concealed behind the masterpieces of one of the world’s most beautiful art museum. To end the tour, we’ll walk through the Villa Borghese gardens, enjoying its beauty and calm far from the roman chaos.