{"id":16053,"date":"2026-05-14T16:34:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T16:34:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/16053\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T16:34:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T16:34:15","slug":"outcry-in-italy-over-plans-to-expand-romes-famed-borghese-gallery-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/16053\/","title":{"rendered":"Outcry in Italy Over Plans to Expand Rome’s Famed Borghese Gallery"},"content":{"rendered":"

ROME, May 14 (Reuters) – Italian heritage groups have \u2060said \u2060they will battle proposals to build \u2060a new structure near Rome’s Borghese Gallery, saying the project would damage one \u200bof the world’s most famous museums for the sake of mass tourism.<\/p>\n

The Borghese collection, which brings together Baroque masterpieces \u200cby Bernini, Caravaggio, Raphael and Titian, \u200cis housed in a 17th century villa that sits in a Rome park, complete with landscaped gardens \u2060and ornamental fountains.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The \u2060proposed expansion, which is only at an initial phase, would involve creating \u200ba new building in an area adjacent to the gallery, allowing the museum to display more of its collection and increase visitor numbers.<\/p>\n

The gallery limits entry to 180 people per time slot, which are often booked out weeks in \u200badvance, leaving many tourists who pour into Rome disappointed.<\/p>\n

The museum has said it needs more space, including \u2060to \u2060show works currently kept in \u2060storage, and has \u200bproposed holding an international competition for the architectural design. It is due to give more information \u200bon the project next week.<\/p>\n

However, several \u2060heritage groups said building in such a sensitive setting would upset the balance between art and nature that has survived for more than four centuries.<\/p>\n

“One must truly hope that this outrage is cancelled,” the Friends of Villa Borghese association wrote on Facebook, promising to take legal action to halt the scheme.<\/p>\n

Art historians have also \u2060taken up cudgels against the plan.<\/p>\n

“The mere idea of injecting one cubic metre of concrete \u2060into the Borghese park … amounts to a resounding blasphemy against the nation’s cultural heritage,” said Tomaso Montanari, an art professor and an expert on Roman Baroque.<\/p>\n

Rome City Council has approved a preliminary, fact-finding mission by the museum, but said this was non-binding and denied reports that it had given its blessing to the enlargement.<\/p>\n

“Rome Capital is interested in being involved in this initiative from the outset, in order to ensure the full compatibility of the plans … with the need to protect Villa Borghese,” the municipality said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Rome has seen a sharp increase \u2060in tourists following the COVID-19 pandemic, with a record 22.9 million visitors booking into registered accommodation last year, against some 14 million a decade earlier.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This surge has swamped many of Rome’s main tourist attractions, with almost 15 million people going to the Colosseum last year. The Borghese \u200bGallery registered a record 630,760 visitors in 2025, against 506,440 a decade earlier.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

(Reporting by \u200bCrispian Balmer; editing by Alvise Armellini, Alexandra Hudson)<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.<\/p>\n

Photos You Should See \u2013 April 2026<\/p>\n

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