Palazzo Borghese

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“Therefore it is commonly said that the four marvels of Rome are the Farnese cube, the Borghese cymbal, the Caetani stairs and the Carboniani portal” is how Giuseppe Antonio Guattani described Palazzo Borghese in his “Roma Descritta ed Illustrata” of 1805. The building was started in 1590 as the property of Monsignor Tommaso del Giglio and continued under the direction of Flaminio Ponzio, who was commissioned by Cardinal Scipione Caffarelli Borghese on behalf of the new owner, Cardinal Camillo Borghese (future Pope Paul V). The portal on the long side, with two Doric columns supporting a balcony, bears above it the large family coat of arms. A second portal, the same as the other but without the coat of arms, opens into the square. From here you enter the large courtyard with its columned portico, and in front is the extraordinary “Pool of Venus”, a nymphaeum with statues, climbing plants and fountains.

Since 1922 Palazzo Borghese houses the prestigious Circolo della Caccia, an association which includes among its members King Juan Carlos of Spain, Prince Charles the Prince of Wales, Philip the Duke of Edinburgh, and the sovereign Albert II of Monaco.

Palazzo Borghese on