Villa Borghese Rome

Villa Borghese: Rome's Green Hideaway

Villa Borghese is Rome’s largest public park, it can be a pleasant refuge from the hectic Roman streets and offers a large number of touristic attractions, featuring a lake, temples, fountains, statues and several museums. The park is located north of the Spanish Steps . Main entrances to Villa Borghese in Rome are near Piazza del Popolo and at Porta Pinciana, at the end of Via Veneto.

Villa Borghese in Rome: history
In the 16th century, the area was as a vineyard, just in 1605 Cardinal Scipione Borghese, turned it into a park. The landscaper Domenico Savino da Montepulciano designed a very formal park with geometric shapes and the architect Flaminio Ponzio built a villa in the middle of it. At the end of the 18th century the neoclassical style dominated Rome, and Villa Borghese underwent some major changes accordingly to the new fashion. An artificial lake was created in the hearth of the park, and on the island in the middle of it, a small Ionic temple dedicated to Aesculapius was built. In 1903 the city of Rome obtained Villa Borghese from the Borghese family and the park was opened to the public. In 1911 the World Exposition was held in this park. Several of the pavilions built by some of the participating countries still exist. The most impressive of these is the British School, built after a design by Edwin Lutyens.

Villa Borghese in Rome: museums
Villa Borghese in Rome is also home to several museums.The most famous one is the Museo e Galleria Borghese, housed in the Villa Borghese, the building after which the park is named. It has a collection of sculptures with some important works by Canova and Bernini. The Galleria Borghese also houses a collection of paintings from several masters including Titian, Rubens and Raphael. Another important museum located in Rome, in Villa Borghese, is the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna, housed in one of the buildings built for the 1911 World Exposition. The museum has a collection of 19th and 20th century paintings. It contains mostly works from Italian artists. Not far from the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna is the Museo Nazionale Etrusco. It displays a collection of pre-Roman objects, mostly Etruscan, excavated around Rome. The museum is housed in the Villa Giulia, a villa built in 1553 as summer residence of pope Julius II.

Villa Borghese in Rome: other attractions
Tucked away among the trees in the heart of the Villa Borghese is one of Rome's more surreal sights. It's the Silvano Toti Globe Theatre, a full-scale reproduction of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, copied from the original designs, and almost identical to the one that now stands on London's South Bank. Another exhibitory place recently created in Rome, in Villa Borghese is the new Casa del Cinema, located inside the well known Casina delle Rose, one of the most beautiful buildings of the park. The core of the complex houses an outstanding Deluxe theatre with one of the most up-to-date sound and projection systems. The Kodak area is equipped for maxi-screen video projections and houses conventions, debates and book presentations. There are also two exhibition halls dedicated to two famous art directors, Sergio Amidei and Cesare Zavattini, a shopping centre, a bookshop and a pleasant cafe/restaurant. As you can see Villa Borghese in Rome can offer you a wide variety of different attractions, so don’t miss the opportunity of visiting it while you’re in the Eternal City.