BORGHESE GALLERY

The museum was created in 1608 when Cardinal Scipione Borghese decided to put together his collection of antiquities, some of which came from the ancient area of St. Peter's Basilica, into the elegant palace he had just had built in the heart of the park. His collection was already quite impressive, and soon thereafter Gian Lorenzo Bernini's collection of paintings and various sculptures was added to it. The works were arranged on two floors: the "museum" was set up on the ground floor with archaeological finds and sculptures, and the painting gallery was displayed upstairs.

The collection was then renewed in the 18th century, but at the beginning of the 19th century a considerable number of its classical sculptures were lost when Prince Camillo Borghese, who had married Paolina Bonaparte, donated most of them to his brother-in-law Napoleon to enrich the classical art section of the Louvre Museum.