borghese gallery history

When Pope V Borghese ascended to the papacy, Cardinal Scipione Borghese, his nephew, he began a systematic acquisition of works of art to satisfy his passion Collector. Historical evidence take us about how the cardinal, reinforced by the support of the Pope, came into possession of these works in ways most unscrupulous: kidnapping, theft, arbitrary papal assignments and suspicious purchases at prices considered insignificant. There is a real inventory of the works contained in the villa at the time of Scipione Borghese, but it seems that at the end of 1600 the cardinal's family was in possession of about 800 masterpieces. The latter is that the immense real estate assets of Borghese was preserved intact until the late eighteenth century. The villa was also preserved a wonderful collection of archaeological finds of ancient Rome, and it was this, in 800, to attract the attention of Napoleon Bonaparte. Many of the classical Roman statues were then transported to the Louvre and some are still there: highlight of the archaeological collection of the museum. The Gallery was acquired by the Italian State in 1902 and has since transformed into a museum. The original of the Cardinal Borghese collection were added various works, some of which are located in the villa in 800 by Napoleon's sister and her husband Camillo Borghese, and others from different collections.

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