Rome 2025 - Galleria Borghese

The Borghese Gallery is chock full of masterpieces, telling so many stories! It's impossible to fully examine them all in just the two hours that one ticket gets you!

To really see, go to my photo album - there are captions and description plaques. I did get a little warning on just how much there was to see by reading this description before going. See also the museum's website - full of descriptions!

I did separate posts for a couple of stunning masterpieces, both by Bernini: Apollo and Daphne, and The Abduction of Proserpina 

Meanwhile, here's just a sample of the rest...

Abduction of Proserpina 

Death of a Virgin 

A scene from the Aeneid, where the hero Aeneas leads his family from burning Troy (Bernini)

Paris, nude with the exception of a pileus – a Phrygian cap

Mosaic 

Satyr on a dolphin

Holy Family with the Infant Baptist and Saint Elizabeth

Saint Sebastian tended by the pious women

Caravaggio's St. Jerome

Abduction of Europa 

Marcus Curtius - see the story here

Marcus Curtius leaping into the chasm, saving Rome 

Portrait of Paolina Borghese Bonaparte as Venus Victrix

1804-1806

Bernini's David, created after Michelangelo's version. While Michelangelo's David is shown after having slung the stone, Bernini's shows David winding up, concentrating fiercely!

Fresco of hunters

Lot's Daughters 

Concert

The Last Supper - JACOPO BASSANO

An Amazon and two greek warriors

This painting shows an entire sequence, all at once: Diana is the goddess of the hunt, shown here bathing with her nymphs. Acteon (at the far right, in the bushes) happens upon the scene, angering Diana. She turns him into a stag, and the hunt is on! His own dogs run him down, and the hunters bring the stag in.

DOMENICHINO
The Hunting of Diana

Vecellio - Sacred and Profane Love

Vecellio - Venus Blindfolding Cupid
1560-1565 circa

RAFFAELLO
Deposition of Christ 1507

Cavaspina

 - Boy with Thorn

 - before 1608

CORREGGIO
Danae
1530-1531

Venus and Cupid with a honeycomb

Lucretia

Marcus Curtius (detail)

After the galleria, we walked through part of the gardens - here's a fountain made of seahorses!

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We took the bus there and back - it was *very* crowded on that Sunday afternoon!

Also to note: We pre-purchased and printed our tickets. They are good only for those two hours. When we arrived, all were sold out for the day. You have to check any bags (even a small purse) at "the coat check" *but* they won't take coats... So, go to the bag-check line first, then the entrance line. We were able to borrow a wheelchair, but the arrangement was a bit different - you take a small elevator to each floor (museum employees run it for you; it's restricted), where you get a wheelchair just for that floor.

A few of the "must-see" works were not there - we assume they were either on loan or being cleaned.

There were *plenty* of others!

Rome 2025 Piazza Navona

This was one of those fabulous days that was forecast to be rainy, but ended up gloriously sunny!

We hopped a bus over to Piazza Navona and strolled around 🙂

Here's Giacomo Della Porta's Neptune Fountain, at the North end 

Bernini's Four Rivers in the center

And Bernini's and della Porta's Fountain of the Moor

We went inside the Church of St Agnes 

We (of course!) had to stop for gelato, but then went down a side street

And around the block to San Luigi dei Francesi,

The National Church of the French in Rome 

Louis IX was king of France from 1226 to 1270. He was canonized in 1297 and is one of France's patron Saints, this church is dedicated to him.

Louis IX

The church is known for having several paintings by Caravaggio

Caravaggio's 
The Martyrdom of St Matthew

Caravaggio's 
St Matthew the Evangelist 

Caravaggio's 
The Call of St Matthew

There are (as usual) more photos, with descriptions in my Rome 2025 Piazza Navona album!