Galleria Borghese

Galleria Borghese houses a vast collection of paintings, sculptures, and antiquities from the 15th to 19th centuries, including works by Caravaggio, Raphael, and Bernini.

Planning your visit

The Galleria Borghese holds the finest small collection in Rome, and visiting it requires planning that catches people out: entry is by timed two-hour slot, numbers are strictly capped, and tickets must be reserved in advance — walk-ups are not admitted.

Scipione Borghese, a cardinal and nephew of Pope Paul V, assembled it in the early seventeenth century by purchase, patronage and occasionally confiscation. The Bernini sculptures he commissioned are the reason to come: Apollo and Daphne, with the nymph's fingers becoming laurel leaves and bark closing over her thigh, carved in marble at a level of virtuosity that seems physically impossible; the Rape of Proserpina, where Pluto's fingers press into her flesh; and David.

Six Caravaggios hang here, including the Boy with a Basket of Fruit and the late David with the Head of Goliath. Raphael, Titian, Correggio and Canova's reclining Paolina Borghese complete it.

The villa sits in the Borghese gardens.

Bookable options are timed entrance tickets. Current availability is listed below.