Only few aristocrats could spend some leisure time exhibiting their collections of art in their mansions or suburban villas to compete one each other in opulence and importance.

3 hours - walking tour

Rumors report that Paolina, sister of Napoleon and wife of the prince Camillo Borghese, watched a painting showing Venus as she won the contest against Juno and Athena. So she asked Canova, a renowned artist, to sculpt a statue of her with the same features of the goddess, of course naked... Is that true ?

Dafne seems scared and surprised at the same time. Perhaps she wasn't expecting to be transformed in a laurel tree when she asked Zeus for some help... Bernini often worked for the Cardinal Scipione Borghese enhancing his wide collection with some of his masterpieces. The Cardinal was a sophisticated art connoisseur and had no qualms when he liked something else to include in his personal museum. First quality Greek and Roman sculptures, carvings, mosaics, paintings by Raphael, Titian, Rubens, Caravaggio: in a while the Borgheses’ country house became the world's finest, no royal collection.