Marcantonio III Borghese, 5th

Prince of Sulmona Prince of Sulmona (Italian language, Italian: ''Principe di Sulmona'') is a nobility, noble title of Italian origin. The title derives its name from Sulmona, a town in Abruzzo. It was originally granted in 1526 with Grandee, Grandeeship of Spain, d ...

(16 September 1730 – 26 March 1800) was the head of the

Borghese family The House of Borghese ( , ) is a family of Italian noble and papal background, originating as the Borghese or Borghesi in Siena, where they came to prominence in the 13th century and held offices under the '' commune''. During the 16th century, t ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. Pro-

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

in sympathies, he was the father of Camillo Filippo Ludovico Borghese, 6th Prince of Sulmona and Francesco, 7th Prince of Sulmona (1832–1839). Prince Marcantonio began recasting his family's Rome villa into a structured museum. From about 1775, under the guidance of architect

Antonio Asprucci Antonio Asprucci (20 May 1723 – 14 February 1808) was an Italian architect. Biography Asprucci was a pupil of Nicola Salvi, the creator of the Trevi Fountain, whom he assisted with creating various works. Once independent, he worked for the D ...

, old tapestry and leather hangings were removed, new ceiling decorations commissioned and the ''Casina'' renovated. The

Borghese collection The Borghese Collection is a collection of Roman sculptures, old masters and modern art collected by the Roman Borghese family, especially Cardinal Scipione Borghese, from the 17th century on. It includes major collections of Caravaggio, Raphae ...

sculptures were reorganized around the Villa in a thematic new ordering that celebrated the Borghese position in Rome. For example, in 1785, he had

Bernini Gian Lorenzo (or Gianlorenzo) Bernini (, ; ; Italian Giovanni Lorenzo; 7 December 1598 – 28 November 1680) was an Italian sculptor and architect. While a major figure in the world of architecture, he was more prominently the leading sculptor ...

's ''

Apollo and Daphne Apollo and Daphne is an Ancient Greek transformation or metamorphosis myth. No written or artistic versions survive from ancient Greek mythology, so it is likely Hellenistic in origin. It was retold by Roman authors in the form of an amorous ...

'' moved to the centre of its room.The rehabilitation of the much-visited villa as a genuinely public museum in the late eighteenth century was the subject of an exhibition at the

Getty Center The Getty Center, in Los Angeles, California, United States, is a campus of the Getty Museum and other programs of the Getty Trust. The $1.3 billion center opened to the public on December 16, 1997, and is well known for its architecture, garde ...

, Los Angeles, in 2000, spurred by the Getty's acquisition of fifty-four drawings related to the project. ''Making a Prince's Museum: Drawings for the Late Eighteenth-Century Redecoration of the Villa Borghese.'' Getty Research Institute (17 June-17 September 2000). Catalogue by Carole Paul, with an essay by Alberta Campitelli. Marcantonio transformed the villa's gardens from a formal garden architecture into an

English landscape garden The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (, , , , ), is a style of "landscape" garden which emerged in England in the early 18th century, and spread across Europe, replacing the more formal ...

References

1730 births 1800 deaths Marcantonio IV Nobility from Rome Rome in the Napoleonic Wars {{Italy-noble-stub