Yesterday was a perfect day for a trip to the Borghese Gallery and the beautiful Borghese park. Someone wrote or said that the park was Rome’s green lungs, and it truly is. I’ve had two memorable past experiences in the park. One was when a very old man came up to me out of nowhere, kissed me, then turned and walked away without a word. Another was when I encountered the Italian horseback patrol, three gorgeous men on horseback wearing uniforms that outdid every Italian uniform I’ve ever seen, which is saying a lot in a country that goes over the top with its uniforms.
I can’t say anything that hasn’t already been said about the collection or the park. I’ve been to the gallery before, but this time I was taken with the faces in the sculptures and paintings, faces that had nothing to do with stylized saints and angels and other heavenly creations. I figure these are the faces of people who actually lived (and of course were wealthy enough to get sculpted or painted by a famous artist). Unless you’re into this stuff, this will be boring. I just like having an idea of what real Romans looked like hundreds of years ago, the ones that didn’t wear halos or wings.
Here are some really old Romans.
And then there’s Cardinal Borghese himself, who declared the gardens and the museum to be places without rules for the enjoyment of everyone, as long as they minded their manners. I don’t think this particular cardinal took the vow of poverty.
A view of his garden.
About the time I got all these pictures onto this page, the cursor froze, so I can’t add anything at the end — more tomorrow when I’ll start all over again. I don’t know who any of these people are or who painted them, but I loved their faces.
