Borghese Gallery Expansion Plan Draws Heritage Backlash

Heritage groups and art historians are opposing the Borghese Gallery's proposal to build a new adjacent facility in Rome, arguing it prioritizes commercial interests over cultural preservation. The 17th-century villa, set in an English landscape garden, commissioned an engineering firm to assess feasibility for a new building to display more of its collection and accommodate more visitors. Currently, the site limits capacity to 360 visitors in two-hour slots, though it welcomed over 630,000 visitors in 2025—a 25% increase from 2015. The museum believes more space is needed for works long in storage. A press conference is scheduled for May 19. A spokesperson stressed the process is "purely administrative." Critics include Friends of Villa Borghese, a nonprofit, and art historian Tomaso Montanari, who wrote in Il Fatto Quotidiano against what he called "the logic of a hypermarket." Rome City Council approved the initial feasibility study in January but insists no decision has been made. Culture councilor Massimiliano Smeriglio called it "a generic will for now." The Villa Borghese was built in the early 17th century by Cardinal Scipione Borghese and houses works by Bernini, Caravaggio, Correggio, Raphael, and Titian.