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Villa Borghese gardens

Coordinates: 41°54′51″N 12°29′32″E / 41.91417°N 12.49222°E / 41.91417; 12.49222
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"Villa Borghese" redirects here. For the villa, see Villa Borghese Pinciana. For the film, see Villa Borghese (film).
Villa Borghese
Monumental entrance of Villa Borghese in Rome on Piazzale Flaminio
Map
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TypePublic park
LocationTown Hall II, Pinciano, Rome, Italy
Coordinates41°54′51″N 12°29′32″E / 41.91417°N 12.49222°E / 41.91417; 12.49222
Area80 acres (32 ha)
Created17th–20th century
Operated byMunicipality of Rome
Websitesovraintendenzaroma.it

Villa Borghese is a landscape garden in Rome, containing a number of buildings, museums (see Galleria Borghese) and attractions. It is the third-largest public park in Rome (80 hectares or 197.7 acres), after the ones of the Villa Doria Pamphili and Villa Ada. The gardens were developed for the Villa Borghese Pinciana ("Borghese villa on the Pincian Hill"), built by the architect Flaminio Ponzio, developing sketches by Scipione Borghese, who used it as a villa suburbana, or party villa, at the edge of Rome, and to house his art collection. The gardens as they are now were remade in the late 19th century.

History

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In 1605 Cardinal Scipione Borghese, nephew of Pope Paul V and patron of Bernini, began turning this former vineyard into the most extensive gardens built in Rome since Antiquity. The vineyard's site is identified with the gardens of Lucullus, the most famous in the late Roman republic. Domenico Savino da Montepulciano was responsible for the layout of the gardens.[1]

Stone benches, Borghese Balustrade

The Borghese Balustrade was crafted by G di Gincome and P. Massoni in 1618 for the south forecourt of the Casino Nobile. At the center opening there were two stone statues on top and fountains with shell-shaped basins below. The statues were a later addition from 1715 by Claude-Augustin Cayot. In 1882, President Chester A. Arthur appointed William Waldorf Astor Minister to Italy, a post he held until 1885. While living in Rome, Astor developed a lifelong passion for art and sculpture. In 1896, he purchased the balustrade and had it installed at his English estate Cliveden. It is a Grade II Listed Building.[2] In 2004, a colony of small Mediterranean land snails of the species Papillifera bidens was discovered living on the Borghese Balustrade. Presumably, this species, new to the English fauna, was accidentally imported along with the balustrade in the late 19th century and managed to survive the intervening winters to the present day.[3]

Temple of Aesculapius (19th century)

In the 18th century Marcantonio Borghese, 5th Prince of Sulmona transformed the villa's gardens from a formal garden architecture into an English landscape garden. Architect Antonio Asprucci and his son Mario worked on landscaping the villa's gardens, from 1782 for over twenty years. They placed statues around the park and started the construction of the Garden of the Lake and Piazza di Siena. They built the Temple of Aesculapius in the ionic style in the center of the lake between 1785 and 1792.[4]

The Sea Horse Fountain was executed by Vincenzo Pacetti in 1791, based on a design by Christopher Unterberger. The Fountain of Venus was probably designed by Giovanni Vasanzio.

Marcantonio's sons, Camillo and Francesco Borghese expanded the park further. The Villa Borghese gardens were long informally open, but was bought by the commune of Rome and given to the public in 1903.[1] Since 1904 monuments depicting famous foreign personalities and writers such as Victor Hugo, have been placed along the avenues of the villa. The statue of Goethe was a gift to the city of Rome from Wilhelm II, German Emperor.[5]

The large landscape park in the English taste contains several villas. The Spanish Steps lead up to this park, and there is another entrance at the Porte del Popolo by Piazza del Popolo. The Pincio (the Pincian Hill of ancient Rome), in the south part of the park, offers one of the greatest views over Rome.

Camillo Borghese threw grandiose shows and popular festivals, such as a ride in an air balloon from the Piazza di Siena.[5] The first horse show was held at the Piazza di Siena in 1922. The Piazza di Siena hosted the equestrian dressage, individual jumping, and the jumping part of the eventing competition for the 1960 Summer Olympics.

Villas in the gardens

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Painting by Diego Velázquez

Gardens

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  • Giardino del Lago
The Casina del lago in 1972
The accesses to the garden are in via Madama Letizia and in viale Pietro Canonica. This is an English garden, transformed by Piano dei licini by Marcantonio IV Borghese at the end of the 18th century into a fashionable garden. Together with the Aspruccis as directors of the works, people like Jacob More alternated between gardeners and artists. Characteristic is the lake in which the Temple of Aesculapius is reflected.[6]
The first historical sources attesting to the works on the Piano dei Licini date back to 1784, works which ended in 1790 with Mario Asprucci as director. In addition to the aforementioned temple of Aesculapius, the temple of Antoninus and Faustina and the temple of Diana were inserted, all in neoclassical style, works immersed in an English garden style garden, although the presence of straight paths and the use of classical furnishings were quite far from the fashionable gardens of the time in France and England. Very little remains of these furnishings: in addition to the three temples, the sarcophagus of Phaethon, a column, some ollas and a statue. But contemporary citations suggest the area was dotted with statues. The most recent statuary group is the bronze one with satyrs playing with their little one, from 1929.[7]
The Temple of Aesculapius
  • Piazzale Scipione Borghese Garden or Rear Garden of Casino Nobile
Originally there was the Narcissus fountain surrounded by ancient statues, furnishings and four herms perhaps by Pietro Bernini and Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The garden, as we see it today, is a twentieth-century development with the replacement of the previous fountain with that of Venus surrounded by a classical garden.[8]
  • Giardini Segreti (Secret Gardens)
They are located in Viale dell'Uccelliera,[9] on the border between the first and second enclosures.[10]
Originally they were located on both sides of the Casino Nobile.[9] The first was called melangoli, while the second was called flowers. They date back to the period of Cardinal Scipione.[9][10] There are two others dating back to around 1680 located between the Uccelliera and Meridiana pavilions. They were used for plantations of rare and exotic flowers, mainly bulb.[9][10] One of these gardens had rows of citrus trees near the long surrounding walls and flowers in the central avenues. In the ledgers of 1610 there are payment orders for bulbous plants.[10] The fourth garden, or propagation garden, is used as a nursery for plants to be used for the other three secret gardens.[9]
These gardens are derived from the 'hortus conclusus of the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and the Baroque era. In these periods the secret gardens are always surrounded by walls.[10]
After the oldest gardens, marble fountains were placed with the function of pilo.[10]
In the 19th century the secret gardens were devastated by French bombings.[10]
At the beginning of the 20th century with the opening to the public, a new rearrangement rearranged the plants by removing all the plants considered inappropriate at the time and the rearrangement was simpler and more linear and divided into four flowerbeds located around the central fountains. Towards the beginning of the First World War, a new intervention was already planned for the first three secret gardens with the arrangement of two gazebos for guests, but already after the war these gazebos no longer existed, as did the Narcissus fountain, leaving the square bare and empty. New flowerbeds were then inserted which were destroyed during the Second World War, however, after various transformations over the centuries, little remains of the original layout of the secret gardens.[10]
You can get guided tours of the Giardini Segreti.[9]
  • Giardini di Valle Giulia
They are located in Piazzale Ferdowsi. They were created for the Italian National Exhibition: Turin, Rome, Florence of 1911 to decorate the staircase created by Cesare Bazzani as a connection from Valle Giulia to Villa itself. The gardens balustrade consist of two nymphaeums neoclassical.[11]
  • Parco dei Daini
It is located in via P. Raimondi. The garden was a reserve of the prince and was surrounded by some herms by Pietro and Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Attached to the border wall there was the "Perspective of the Theatre", from 1615, with relief decorations. The name derives from the fact that in the park, until the end of the Nineteenth century, there were fallow deer and gazelles.[12]
On the edge of the Parco dei Daini, on the corner between via Pinciana and via Pietro Raimondi, is located the "Villa Umberto Barracks", headquarters of the mounted squad of the Polizia di Stato.
  • Valle dei Platani
Valle dei Platani in Villa Borghese on a December morning

It is located in Largo P. Picasso. It has remained more or less unchanged since the 17th century and is also known by the name of "Valle dei cani" ("Valley of the dogs"), because it is used as a play area for dogs. It consists, among other things, of platani planted by Cardinal Scipione.[13]

Museums

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The Galleria Borghese

Numerous museums are located inside or near the park:

Furthermore, the park hosts the Casa del cinema, the Casina di Raffaello and the Gigi Proietti Globe Theatre.

Other points of interest

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Hydrochronometer by Embriaco
  • The garden contains a replica of the Shakespeare's Globe Theatre built in 2003.
  • Beside the 1911 Exposition's villas, there is the Exposition's Zoo, recently redesigned, with minimal caging, as the Bioparco, and the Zoological Museum (Museo di Zoologia). Nearby is the Casina di Raffaello playroom, which has crafts and reading rooms, and a space where children can dress up in royal outfits.[14]
  • In 1873 a hydrochronometer on the 1867 design of Gian Battista Embriaco, O.P.[15] inventor and professor of the Roman College of St. Thomas was built in the gardens in emulation of the one at the College of St. Thomas. Another version stands in the gardens of the Pincian Hill. Embriaco had presented two prototypes of his invention at the Paris Universal Exposition in 1867 where it won prizes and great acclaim.[16]

Flora

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Below is the list of the main trees of Villa Borghese:

Plant common name[17] Scientific name[17]
Bald cypress Taxodium distichum
Larch Larix decidua
Stone pine or pine nuts pine Pinus pinea
White pine Pinus strobus
Cypresses Cupressus sempervirens
Bald cypress of the swamps Taxodium distichum
Cedar of the Atlas Mountains Cedrus atlantica
Himalayan cedar Cedrus deodara
Cedar of Lebanon Cedrus libani
Silver fir Abies alba
Spruce Picea abies
Holm oak Quercus ilex
Oak from cork Quercus suber
Cerro Quercus cerris
Red oak Quercus rubra
Farnia Quercus robur
Siberian elm[18] Ulmus pumila
Field elm Ulmus campestris or Ulmus minor
Bagolaro or stonebreaker Celtis australis
Cypress poplars Populus nigra italic variety
Black poplar Populus nigra
Triacanthus Gleditsia triacanthos
Lime trees Tilia cordata
Nuts Juglans nigra
Juglans directed
Ailanti Ailanthus glandulosa
Maples Acer negundo
Acer campestris or Acer campestre
Horse chestnuts Aesculus hippocastanum
Robinia Robinia pseudoacacia
Judas tree or siliquastrum Cercis siliquastrum
Tree of the Rosary Melia azedarach
Paulonia Paulownia tomentosa
Koelreuteria Koelreuteria paniculata

And here is the list of herbaceous plants of Villa Borghese:

Plant common name[19] Scientific name[19]
Daisy Bellis perennis
Flavagello Ranunculus ficaria
Anemone Anemone stellata hortensis
Marigold Calendula arvensis
Asphodel Asphodelus albus
Romulea Romulea bubocondium
Hyacinth wild Bellevalia ciliata
Ornithogalum Ornithogallum umbellatum
Wild garlic Allium neapolitanum
Greater hemlock Conium maculatum
Orchid Ophyx apifera
Aro or gigaro Arum italicum
Cyclamen Ciclamen neapolitanum
Periwinkle Vinca major
Caper Capparis spinosa
Polypodium Polipodium vulgaris
Ferns Anogramma leptophylla

Fauna

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Avifauna located throughout the villa:

Animal common name[20] Scientific name[20]
Blackbird Turdus merula
Hooded crow Corvus cornix
Jackdaw Coloeus monedula
Cancellation Sturnus vulgaris
House sparrow


Great tit

Passer domesticus italiae

Parus major

Robin Erithacus rubecula
Finch Fringilla coelebs
Wren Troglodytes troglodytes
Goldfinch Carduelis carduelis
Great Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos major
Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus
Kestrel Falco tinnunculus
Owl Athene noctua
Tawny Owl Strix aluco

Birdlife located in the small artificial lake:

Animal common name[20] Scientific name[20]
Geese  
Domestic duck Anas platyrhynchos domesticus
Black-headed gull Larus ridibundus
Herring gull Larus cachinnans
Gadwall Anas strepera
Mallard duck Anas platyrhynchos
Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo
Gray Heron Ardea cinerea
Moorhen Gallinula chloropus

Ichthyofauna:

Animal common name[20] Scientific name[20]
Largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides
Bluegill Lepomis gibbosus
Carp Cyprinus carpio
Gambusie Gambusia affinis holbrooki

Mammals:

Animal common name[20] Scientific name[20]
Squirrel Sciurus vulgaris
Black rat Rattus rattus
Wild mouse Apodemus sylvaticus
Hedgehog Erinaceus europaeus

Reptiles:

Animal common name[20] Scientific name[20]
Wall lizard Podarcis muralis
Country lizard Podarcis sicula
Gecko Tarentola mauritanica
Turtle American swamp turtle Trachemys scripta elegans
Pond turtle Emys orbicularis
Biacco Hierophis viridiflavus
Colubra of Aesculapius Elaphe longissima

Finally, among the xylophagous insects, it is worth mentioning the great capricorn beetle (Cerambyx cerdo) visible in late spring towards sunset on the tree trunks.[21]

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  • Flaminio and Spagna metro stations
  • It can be reached from the Flaminio terminus of the tram
  • It can be reached from the Valle Giulia terminus and from the Galleria Arte Moderna, Aldrovandi and Bioparco stops of the tram
  • Villa Giulia Museo Etrusco – Bioparco – Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna – Aldrovandi stops of the tram
  • Flaminio railway station

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b "Villa Borghese Park", Turismo Roma, Major Events, Sport, Tourism and Fashion Department
  2. ^ "Villa Borghese Balustrade, Cliveden Estate", National Trust
  3. ^ Sharpe, Janet Rideout (March 2005). "Papillifera papillaris (Gastropoda:Clausiliidae): a new record for Britain" (PDF). The Archeo+Malacology Group Newsletter, (7). pp. 6–7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  4. ^ Moorby, Nicola (February 2009). "The Temple of Aesculapius in the Grounds of Villa Borghese, Rome, with the Greek Inscription from its Façade". Tate.
  5. ^ a b "Villa Borghese", Archeoroma
  6. ^ "Villa Borghese Gardens, Lake Garden section". sovrintendenzaroma.it. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  7. ^ Alberta Campitelli, Il Giardino del Lago, Villa Borghese 2, pp. 45–54.
  8. ^ Sovrintendenza di Roma. "Villa Borghese Giardini, sezione Giardino posteriore del Casino Nobile" (in Italian). Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  9. ^ a b c d e f Sovrintendenza di Roma. "Villa Borghese Gardens, Secret Gardens section". Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h Alberta Campitelli, I Giardini Segreti, Villa Borghese 2, pp. 8–12.
  11. ^ Sovrintendenza di Roma. "Villa Borghese Giardini, sezione Giardini di Valle Giulia" (in Italian). Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  12. ^ Sovrintendenza di Roma. "Villa Borghese Gardens, Parco dei Daini section" (in Italian). Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  13. ^ Sovrintendenza di Roma. "Villa Borghese Giardini, sezione Valle dei Platani" (in Italian). Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  14. ^ "Villa Borghese", Condé Nast Traveler
  15. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on December 16, 2013. Retrieved March 20, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Accessed 20 March 2013: "È infatti del 1867 l'invenzione dell'idrocronometro, dovuta al padre domenicano Giovanni Battista Embriaco, che attese ai suoi studi di meccanica applicata all'orologeria nella solitudine del convento della Minerva."
  16. ^ https://www.comune.roma.it/PCR/resources/cms/documents/storia-idrocronometro.pdf Accessed 20 March 2013; "Storia del Progetto"
  17. ^ a b Table data from: Rosaria Alducci; Lucia Amodio, La flora arborea, Villa Borghese 1, pp. 27–29
  18. ^ The Siberian elm was planted in northern Italy because it seems to resist ellm graphosis (Source: Rosaria Alducci, La flora arborea, Villa Borghese 1, pp. 27–29)
  19. ^ a b Table data from: Pietro Lippolis, The bushy flora, Villa Borghese 1, pp. 30–31
  20. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Table data from: Pietro Lippolis, La fauna, Villa Borghese 1, pp. 31–32
  21. ^ Pietro Lippolis, The fauna, Villa Borghese 1, pp. 31–32.
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Preceded by
Villa Ada 		Landmarks of Rome
Villa Borghese gardens 		Succeeded by
Villa Doria Pamphili
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