Borghese Gallery with a Guide and Five Other People

The Borghese Gallery admits visitors in timed blocks and most guided groups arrive at the size the ticketing allows. This one is capped at six. That number is the product. In the rooms of the Villa Borghese Pinciana the sculpture is meant to be walked around, and Bernini's Apollo and Daphne changes completely depending on where you stand: from one side a chase, from another a woman turning into a tree with the bark already up her thigh. With six people you can move to the second position. With thirty you stand where you are put. The collection was assembled by Cardinal Scipione Borghese, who bought, commissioned and occasionally confiscated what he wanted. It holds Caravaggio's David with the Head of Goliath, Raphael's Deposition, and work by Canova. The guide covers the artists, the patrons who paid them and the stories that go with both, which in this family is a substantial subject. After the gallery the Borghese Gardens are yours to walk unaccompanied. The park is large, with fountains and long avenues, and it is where Rome goes on a Sunday.