Synopsis

The Borghese Gallery houses what is arguably one of the greatest collections of art in the world. In the early 1600s Cardinal Scipio Borghese, the nephew of Pope Paul V, amassed an incredible collection of ancient sculptures and renaissance art, including works by Titian, Botticelli and Raphael. Scipio added to this by commissioning statues from Bernini and buying up works by Caravaggio, Domenichino and other contemporary artists of the day.

 

The collection also houses later artworks acquired over the centuries by the Borghese family, all in a magnificent building designed for Cardinal Scipio especially to house his collection. The Borghese Gallery is set in the Villa Borghese gardens, until a century ago the private gardens of the Borghese family, and today one of the most beautiful public parks in Rome.

 

Profile

An Englishman in Rome, Stuart has been enjoying life in the Eternal City since 2001, when he left his native London. Having already qualified as a licensed "Blue Badge" Tourist Guide in London in 1998, Stuart is proud to have also passed the Provincia di Roma exams to become a licensed Tour Guide of Rome, becoming one of very few people to hold both qualifications.
While at university Stuart broadened his horizons with work exchange programs in Canada and the USA. He has also lived and worked in Australia, France, Austria….and now Italy.

Stuart's love of history and language brought him into the travel industry in 1992, leading American educational tour groups all over Europe. This instilled in him the idea that a Tour Guide should be both informative and fun - not a dusty, dry professor, but a friend who can share the local traditions and amusing anecdotes as well as the history, art and architecture of the city and its monuments.