Marianne and I had a much larger appetite for museums and art galleries than the rest of the warriors, so we headed off early our third morning in Rome to see if we could score tickets to the Galleria Borghese which were sold out online. We stood in line and asked a young gentleman dispensing tickets if any were still available for the 9:00 slot. He politely, but unequivocably, told us that the morning slots were just too busy and we should return for the 1:00 entrance.
We headed off to the Galleria store to look at reproductions of what we'd be missing inside. A lot! As the line ended, I decided to go back and ask the young woman dispensing tickets if any were still availalble and we scored! I thanked her and could hear the young man giving her a piece of his mind as we walked away. She didn't seem any more bothered than we did.
The city of Roma nationalized the Borghese Villa and gardens in 1903 and opened them to the public. The grounds include a zoo in addition to walking/biking paths, the house and the aviary, and many liken it to Central Park in New York.
Decoration covers every square inch of the Villa's internal space--floors, walls and ceilings. Faux marble and gilt everywhere. The exhibit, Caravaggio Bacon, juxtaposed the well-known Baroque painter with a modern artist. Interesting work, if not my taste.
Marianne and I found the sculptures by Bernini the most wonderful of all. Pluto & Proserpina, Apollo & Daphne, David, and Aeneas, Anchises & Ascanius. The facial expressions illuminated these well-known stories. The texture of the skin bringing these marble recreations as close to real life as one could imagine. We especially fell in love with Tre-A and the poignant story of Aenes carrying his father to safety.
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