Borghese Gallery skip-the-line tickets and guided tour

When it comes to art museums, the Villa Borghese is in a league of its own. In 2 hours, you will wander the Villa’s 20 rooms and marvel at peerless masterpieces in each one. Nowhere else is so much beauty packed so elegantly into so little space. With crowds strictly controlled by the museum, you won’t have to strain to hear your expert guide tell the stories behind each work.

Imagine a palace that was specifically built to house amazing works of art. Its 20 rooms are treasure troves of visual splendor: every wall holds a masterpiece, every pedestal supports exquisitely carved marble, and even the ceilings sing with divine frescoes. Galleria Borghese is Rome’s most exclusive and intimate art museum. Built in the 17th century by Cardinal Scipione Borghese specifically to house his magnificent art collection, it was once only open to royals and visiting dignitaries.

See well-known works including Bernini’s Apollo and Daphne, Rape of Proserpina, and David; Caravaggio’s St. John the Baptist; and Canova’s Pauline Bonaparte; along with lesser-known gems like Raphael’s Lady with a Unicorn; and Bassano’s The Last Supper.

Your expert guide will bring an incredible passion to the proceedings and will inform you of all the backstories that lend each work depth and nuance. From the quirks of Cardinal Borghese to the heartbreaking story of the commissioning of Raphael’s The Deposition, this is a journey through art like none you have taken before.

Works visited:

• Bernini’s Rape of Proserpina
• Bernini’s Apollo and Daphne
• Bernini’s David
• Antonio Canova’s Pauline Bonaparte
• Caravaggio’s David and Goliath
• Caravaggio’s St. John The Baptist
• Raphael’s The Deposition
• Titian’s The Scourging of Christ
• And many more