Borghese Gallery and Museum

If you only have time or want to see one art museum in Rome, make it this one. The Museo e Galleria Borghese, known as the "queen of all private art collections", has some of the city's best art treasures, including a series of outstanding Bernini sculptures and key paintings by such Italian painters as Caravaggio, Titian, Raphael, and Rubens.

Cardinal Scipione Borghese, the collection's namesake, was the most knowledgeable and ruthless art collector of his day in the 16th century. His collection is now kept in a gorgeous home on wonderful grounds, which gives a refreshing breath of fresh air in the middle of Rome's noise. Even better, admittance is limited (book ahead), so the two floors of tiny galleries are seldom overcrowded.

Location: Piazzale Scipione Borghese, 5, 00197 Roma RM, Italy

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