Villa Borghese, Rome

There is the great art gallery in the Villa Borghese. You can see there a lot of great paintings and especially wonderful sculptures of Bernini! You just have to see it!
My advice, you have to reserve the tickets more earlier than you want to go there , the best by the phone.
There is also nice park around the art gallery so you can go there for a walk.

A must see is Villa Borghese it's a beautifull park were you find the Museao e Galleria Borghese, a collection of important paintings and sculptures gathered by the Borghese family.

I saw a beautifull sculpture ther " Apollo and Daphne" by Gian Lorenzo BERNINI, I really fell in love by this marble sculpture.
Read the story http://www.online-mythology.com/apollo_daphne/

In Villa Borghese you also will find a replica of the Sculpture "David" ( fighting Goliath ) also by Bernini. The original David stands in Florence.

I f you want to visit Villa Borghese call well in advance because it's only possible to visit with a reservation.

Villa Borghese is 3 1/2 miles in circumference. It was created by Cardinal Scipione Borghese in the 1600s. Umberto I, king of Italy, acquired it in 1902 & presented it to the city of Rome. It's filled with huge trees, grassy lawns, sidewalks, ponds. People enjoy bike rides, boating & family picnics.

Inside the park are museums & galleries. The most impressive is the Galleria Borghese, with mosaics, sculptures by Canova and Bernini and works by Rubens and Titian as well as numerous Caravaggios.

The photo shows The Rape of Proserpine - By Bernini in 1622. The God of the underworld, Pluto, carries Proserpine away to be his bride. In this sculpture Bernini places in contrast the taut musculature of Pluto with the soft yielding flesh of Proserpine.

In 1908 'bioparco di roma' was founded.
In 1911 it opened it's doors and it was
a huge succes back then.
You need to know that 'Carl Hagenbeck' standards
were used. Now , that name probably doesn't
ring a bell if your not into zoo's.
He was an animal trader from Hamburg but
he also created his own zoo.
The unique thing about this was that he didn't
used iron cages. He used rocks and water
and other more visual attractive enclosures.
You could also see the lions and the zebra's
in one enclosure. Of course they were
separated by a deep canal.

But soon the Rome zoo came in decline.
In 1933 the architect Raffaele De Vico began
the work on the new area, which would
include two major attractions: the big aviary
and the reptile house.

And the story repeats. Untill a few years
ago Bioparco di Roma had an awfull
reputation. New money was found and the
zoo ones again starts a new life.

When I was there the reptile house was
getting redone. The crocodiles were waiting
for a new exhibit. That without loosing the
charm of the old reptile house.

My favorite exhibits were the bear-enclosure ,
and the chimpanzees enclosure.
What was nice to see is how the old
Hagenbeck-lion enclosure was transformed
into a modern lion-enclosure.

There is a futur for the bioparco di Rome.

The park of the Villa Borghese covers 6 sq. km north of the Spanish Steps and V.V. Veneto. Its shaded paths, overgrown gardens, scenic terraces, and countless fountains and statues are a refreshing break from the fumes and chaos of the city as well as a great place to spend time when everything else is closed for the afternoon.
In the park you can find Villa Giulia, home of the resplendent Museo Nazionale Etrusco. Villa Giulia also hosts outdoor classical concerts during the month of July. The park's other major museums are the Galleria Borghese, which houses one of Rome's finest sculpture collections as well as a gallery of Renaissance paintings, and the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna.

I missed Villa Borghese the first time I was in Rome. The second time, I made it a priority and was glad that I did. Highlights for me were the Bernini sculptures, especially his version of David, Apollo and Daphne, The Rape of Prosperine. The detail is unbelievable. The gardens are also nice for a stroll after your visit to the gallery.

Thank god this place was opened to the public! There is so much amazing art packed into this villa turned gallery- I could spend the two hours looking at the Bernini sculptures alone! But be sure to spend time with the Caravaggios, Raphael and the Titian....This list could go on forever! Once you are done with the art, the gardens are the perfect place to have a picnic. There's also one edge of the gardens with a lovely view of the city. Just be sure to make your reservations ahead of time - they only let a certain number of people in at a time.

A good place to go for park lovers. You can hire bikes to cycle around the grounds, feed the birds bread, laze around...

Some of the landmarks plentiful in the grounds include statues, pavillions and fountains.