Typical example of a Patrizia Villa from the 600’s, on request of the Cardinal Scipione Borghese, of the powerful princely family from Rome, the Palazzina Borghese was built by Flaminio Ponzio and Vasanzio between 1613 and 1614. Situated on the east corner of the villa Borghese, it soon became the home of a very rich art collection that the Cardinal Borghese was enlarging in those years, until it became famous in all of Europe for its masterpieces.
This notoriety convinced Napoleon, in 1807 to buy from Camillo Borghese, husband of Paolina Bonaparte, a large part of the collection to take to Paris, where it is in the Louvre. Integrated with new acquisitions (above all important archeological relics) for the rest of the XIX century, the collection was bought by the state in 1902 together with the palazzina and the entire property, to then find its final destination at the museum.


The sculptures
One of the most famous works in the museum is the ‘Venere vincitrice’ by Antonio Canova, now known simply as the portrait of Paolina Borghese, 1805. It’s the main piece of the collection, well known mainly for its sculptures. Scipione Borghese was, in-fact, the protector of Bernini, and his work is a big source of pride for the museum. During the years of dealing with the prince cardinal, Gian Lorenzo Bernini was working on sculptures of great value such as Capra Amaltea (1615), Enea e Anchise (1618, maybe done with the help of his father, Pietro), the bust of Paolo V (1621), the Ratto di Proserpina (1622), David (1623, a self portrait), Apollo e Dafne (1622-24), the bust of the Cardinal Scipione Borghese (1632) and the Verità svelata dal Tempo, began in 1645, when the sculptor was sent away from the Pontifical court.

The picture gallery
Next to the extraordinary collection of sculptures, the gallery has a very rich collection of masterpieces of great value. There are many works of Caravaggio: San Girolamo, la Madonna dei Palafrenieri, il Giovane con canestro di frutta, San Giovanni Battista, Davide con la testa di Golia, Selfportrait in veste di Bacco. By Tiziano there’s the very famous Amor sacro e amor profano, recently restored, il Cristo flagellato e il San Domenico. Other masterpieces are Il figliol prodigo del Guercino; il San Giovanni Battista del Bronzino; Apollo e Dafne, la Santa Caterina e la Maga Circe di Dosso Dossi; il Cantore Appassionato del Giorgione; il celebre Susanna e i vecchioni e il Pianto sul Cristo morto by Rubens; two Roman sceneries by Canaletto, il Colosseo e la Basilica di Massenzio; la Madonna col Bambino e San Giovannino by Andrea del Sarto and one of Correggio’s most famous pieces la Danae. Some works of Raffaello, amongst which, Ritratto virile, la Dama con l'unicorno and una famosa Deposizione, have been reallocated to the Galleria Borghese, where there is an entire room dedicated to the artist. In the Lanfranco room there are works by F. Albani, by Viola, Guido Reni and by Grimaldi. In the other rooms works in Leonardo and Lombardy style, Senese paintings from '500’s, works by Veronese, Lotto, Domenichino, Carracci, Pietro da Cortona, Sacchi and from Roman mannerism and central Italy.