Galleria Borghese receives Pietro da Cortona portrait, government funds restaurant

The Galleria Borghese in Rome has received a donation of Pietro da Cortona's 'Ritratto di Giulio Sacchetti' from the Fondazione Giulio e Giovanna Sacchetti, presented in the presence of Culture Minister Dario Franceschini. The painting will be reunited with its pendant, the 'Ritratto di Marcello Sacchetti', also by Pietro da Cortona, already in the museum's collection. The donation was announced by Giovanna Sacchetti, President of the foundation established in 2013. Museum director Anna Coliva expressed enthusiasm, noting that the reunion reconstructs a scene of patrons and artists from 17th-century Rome. The portraits will be placed in the Loggia del Lanfranco alongside works by Scipione Borghese and Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Franceschini also announced that the government has allocated €3.5 million from the Stability Law to improve services at the museum, including the opening of a quality restaurant that will operate in the evenings after the museum closes. The donation revives the rare practice of a historic family sharing a significant artwork with the public, fostering scholarship and appreciation of the artist.