The Borghesi family is a bit like Italian royalty, this dynasty has a lineage tracing back to C13, not always in Rome, they didn’t come here until C17 when one of them got made Pope Paul V, and the family moved. Paul V’s nephew Scipione, himself a cardinal soon after, was an art-lover extraordinaire and it’s the “must-see” collection in Rome these days. So we head off to Villa Borghesi, an incorrectly named park, indeed the third largest in Rome, where the purpose-built Galleria Borghesi can be found - the family didn’t live here, they just used it to house the collection and to hold parties.
Regular tickets get sold out months in advance but we got some from an agency at a remarkably modest premium, and we are let in before our allocated time - a double bonus! The Galleria has all the proportions of a stately home, and one would be forgiven for assuming it once was, unless you’ve read the previous paragraph. The first floor houses eight or nine (when is a room just a corridor?) rooms decorated to the n-th degree, the second floor two less where the below ones are double-height. Every room is filled with the most exquisite art imaginable - mostly sculptures on one and paintings on two.
It’s going to be impossible to show everything we enjoyed, so a short list will hopefully give a flavour. To be fair, the paintings are very singular and not necessarily our preferred taste but the sculptures most certainly are.
Strolling on, the next area in this huge park is a zoo. Now I know there’s some debate about the correctness of zoos, but surely as long as they are well managed and properly vetted (so to speak!) surely they make it possible for people see things many wouldn’t otherwise be able to see? We enjoy a wander around, checking out a variety of enclosures, and below is a highlight of some of these.
Moving on we wander this enormous park, passing the Globe - yes a complete replica of the 1599 version originally built in Southwark, made entirely of wood in 2003, just a few years after the current Southwark one, which was rebuilt in 1997. Our journey across the park passes the Temple of Asclepius and down along the city walls to the People’s Gate, the northern entrance to the city.
The People’s Plaza is vast, with an overlooking viewpoint so we climb back to check it out then re-descend to start our return home. We take the fashion high-street Via del Babuino back towards Spanish Steps, passing dozens and dozens of haute couture shops that don’t need to have price tags - “Madam, if you have to ask, you cannot afford it.” The Spanish Steps are open even though the catwalk is still being dismantled after last night, but we decide against ascending.
One last walk past the madness of Trevi Fountain and we’re heading back to The Guardian for the last time, stopping for ice-cream at the shop around the corner. Wow what a surprise, it’s a good job we didn’t discover this awesome place before now - has to be the best gelato ever and that’s no exaggeration.
We settle into our bar area and relax with iPads, Kindles and the rest of a modern existence for a while, until it is time to meet Sheffield friends for a pre-dinner Chardonnay. After a lovely hour were ready to shower and dress for dinner across the road - we would have no hesitation in recommending this restaurant to anyone.
Comments
Post a Comment