Marcantonio III Borghese, 5th

Prince of Sulmona Prince of Sulmona (Italian: ''Principe di Sulmona'') was a noble title of Italian origin. The title derives its name from Sulmona, a town in Abruzzo. It was originally granted in 1526 with Grandeeship of Spain, during the reign of Charles V, Hol ...

(16 September 1730 – 26 March 1800) was the head of the

Borghese family The House of Borghese is a princely family of Italian noble and papal background, originating as the Borghese or Borghesi in Siena, where they came to prominence in the 13th century and held offices under the ''commune''. During the 16th century, ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. Pro- Bonaparte in sympathies, he was the father of

Camillo Filippo Ludovico Borghese ''Don'' Camillo Filippo Ludovico Borghese, Prince of Sulmona and of Rossano, Duke and Prince of Guastalla (19 July 1775 – 9 May 1832) was a member of the Borghese family, best known for being a brother-in-law of Napoleon. Borghese married Nap ...

, 6th Prince of Sulmona and Francesco, 7th Prince of Sulmona (1832–1839). Prince Marcantonio began recasting his family's Rome villa into a structured museum. From about 1775, under the guidance of architect

Antonio Asprucci Antonio Asprucci (20 May 1723 – 14 February 1808) was an Italian architect. Biography Asprucci was a pupil of Nicola Salvi, the creator of the Trevi fountain, whom he assisted with creating various works. Once independent, he worked for the Du ...

, old tapestry and leather hangings were removed, new ceiling decorations commissioned and the ''Casina'' renovated. The Borghese collection sculptures were reorganized around the Villa in a thematic new ordering that celebrated the Borghese position in Rome. For example, in 1785, he had

Bernini Gian Lorenzo (or Gianlorenzo) Bernini (, , ; Italian Giovanni Lorenzo; 7 December 159828 November 1680) was an Italian sculptor and architect. While a major figure in the world of architecture, he was more prominently the leading sculptor of his ...

's ''

Apollo and Daphne Apollo and Daphne is a transformation myth from ancient Greek mythology, retold by Hellenistic and Roman authors in the form of an amorous vignette. History The earliest known source of this myth is Parthenius, a Greek poet who lived during t ...

'' moved to the centre of its room.The rehabilitation of the much-visited villa as a genuinely public museum in the late eighteenth century was the subject of an exhibition at the

Getty Center The Getty Center, in Los Angeles, California, is a campus of the Getty Museum and other programs of the Getty Trust. The $1.3 billion center opened to the public on December 16, 1997 and is well known for its architecture, gardens, and views over ...

, Los Angeles, in 2000, spurred by the Getty's acquisition of fifty-four drawings related to the project. ''Making a Prince's Museum: Drawings for the Late Eighteenth-Century Redecoration of the Villa Borghese.'' Getty Research Institute (17 June-17 September 2000). Catalogue by Carole Paul, with an essay by Alberta Campitelli. Marcantonio transformed the villa's gardens from a formal garden architecture into an

English landscape garden The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (french: Jardin à l'anglaise, it, Giardino all'inglese, german: Englischer Landschaftsgarten, pt, Jardim inglês, es, Jardín inglés), is a sty ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Borghese, Marcantonio Iv 1730 births 1800 deaths Marcantonio IV Nobility from Rome Rome in the Napoleonic Wars