BORGHESE GALLERY

Italian Galleria Borghese, state museum in Rome distinguished for its collection of Italian Baroque painting and ancient sculpture. It is located in the Borghese Gardens on the Pincian Hill and is housed in the Villa Borghese, a building designed by the Dutch architect Jan van Santen (Giovanni Vasanzio) and built between 1613 and 1616. The paintings were largely collected in the 17th century by Pope Paul V (Camillo Borghese) and his nephew Cardinal Scipione Borghese, while the antiquities were primarily obtained by Marcantonio Borghese in the 18th century and by Francesco Borghese in the 19th century. In 1902 the villa and its collection were acquired from the Borghese family by the Italian government.