A not-to-be-missed exhibition at Romes Villa Borghese Gallery will give visitors, for the next four months, the unique opportunity to see exclusive pieces of antiquities and sculpture in their original setting, on loan from the Louvre, Paris.
The celebrated Canova sculpture of Napoleons shameless sister, Paolina Borghese, has been moved temporarily to make place for the colossal marble vase, a masterpiece of ancient Greek art, which was purchased by Napoleon and taken to France in 1796, along with over 340 precious pieces from the Borghese collection. Another room is devoted to the Sleeping Hermaphrodite, a Roman copy of a Greek original, set up alongside its companion, the so-called Stante Hermaphrodite, considered so scandalous when it was discovered in 1781 that it was kept hidden.
For the entire period of the exhibition, the Room of the Moor on the ground floor contains the ancient statue in alabaster and black marble that gave it its name, while the Room of the Three Graces and the Room of the Centaur have re-acquired their namesakes.
The sixty masterpieces come from the Louvre, where the rest of the collection sold by Camillo Borghese, Paolina husband, is now housed, and can be admired in their old home until the 9 April 2012. Opening hours: every day except Monday from 9 am to 7 pm. Prior booking is essential.
For information: (0039)06.32810 www.mondomostre.it - www.ticketeria.it
