Grand Tour
5279 Roma. Villa Borghese
Texts by Claudio Strinati, Gianni Guadalupi, Anna Coliva, Caterina Napoleone
2002 / 192 PAGES.
Language: Two editions: Italian, French
An ultra-modern cultural and leisure centre under Scipione Borghese and later a museum under Marcantonio IV Borghese, Palazzina Borghese was “born” twice. This volume illustrates its historic and artistic vicissitudes.
The villa was the setting of glories and delights for Cardinal Scipione Borghese, who had designed it as an out-of-town dwelling for receptions as well as a state residence to welcome diplomatic missions before they visited the pope. It is shown here in all the magnificence of the rooms that Marcantonio Borghese – undoubtedly the greatest Roman art patron and collector in the second half of the 18th century – commissioned the top artists of the time to redecorate, thus making it a worthy backdrop for a stunning collection of antique and Baroque masterpieces. This elevation of the concept of decoration to a work method allowing us to connect the immense and the microscopic led to the creation of a true universe of artistic knowledge marked by the principle of tolerance.