LA VILLA BORGHESE

This past week on our day off we were able to visit one of the most sensational mansions in the world!  This Villa is now a Gallery/Museum.  Some call this a castle!  Construction was started in 1612 and was finished one year later!  We were not allowed to take pictures of the magnificent interiors but we have never seen such beautiful life sized statues before!  The paintings were breathtaking!  On every ceiling in the entire Villa there are remarkable Michel Angelo type frescos/paintings that are so beautiful!  There were innumerable famous paintings!  The statue of David is so wonderful.  He is life-sized and he is in the process of swinging his sling to hit Goliath!  His expression is intense.  If you would like to see some of the statues and paintings, you can google Borghese Gallery.

There are three floors and the doorway you see under the staircase is the basement and that is where the box office, security, book store etc. are located.  Everything in the basement is solid marble.  To go through the main entrance, we walked up the stairs and in through the center archway.  Security is very tight and no handbags or cameras were allowed.  Another statue that is so gorgeous is the statue of Pauline.  Even the cushion she is sitting on looks real and it is made out of marble!

This is a partial side view of the mansion.  It is difficult to show the beauty of this place!  There were even statues all over the grounds!  In the main room upstairs we sat in the center of the room for a few minutes and admired the full sized men who were painted on the ceiling (which was close to 30' high) to look like they were holding the ceiling up!  Just under the men were corbels which spanned the entire room every 12".  At first, we didn't know if they were real or painted.....we had to get up and walk around the room to find they were painted to make the corbels and the men look 3D!

Between the mansion and the sculptured gardens is an atrium!  As you can see it is gorgeous and on the roof you can see two wire shaped towers that were built to house exotic birds!

This is one of two water fountains located in the front piazza on a walkway out to the expansive property!  We never did find out how many acres there are total, but after we left to go home, we found out there is a "lake" that is situated perfectly that we must go back and see!

Even as we were walking back to our car, we saw some amazing and beautiful structures that were very well preserved.  This is a beautiful gazebo that was probably used for entertaining!

We could not see the end of the property in any direction!  The trees were everywhere and they were very green and beautiful!  We came at the perfect time of year when everything is lush and beautiful!  We have had a lot of rain here in Rome!

We are very grateful to be able to have the opportunity to see such incredible master works of sculpture and painting.  We hope you will each have the opportunity to someday come and explore the city of Rome!

Love to all,  Lynne and Larry