The Vatican Museums and the Borghese Gallery are two giants of Rome’s amazing cultural institutions. Each venue offers an extraordinary collection of art, but with different focuses and stories. The difference in their scope, scale, and ambiance is what really sets them apart.
The first contender – the Vatican Museum
My first impression of the Vatican Museum was the line ups outside the imposing walls. The day of our visit was nice and sunny but there was a howling, bone chilling, December wind. We arrived a half hour prior to our scheduled visit time and there was nowhere to hide from the cold, whilst we waited.
Once inside the massive gates the museums are a vast sprawling affair with interconnected galleries, courtyards, and halls.
The vastness and the richness of the collection is breathtaking, I found the sheer scale of the museum and the sheer number of visitors to be completely overwhelming. We did not have a plan of attack in place for exploring the museum, which added to the sense of bewilderment.
Some of the highlights included:
The Egyptian Museum, featuring mummies, hieroglyphics and other artifacts from ancient Egypt.
The Raphael Room frescos.
The Gallery of Maps was like shuffling through history alongside with a few hundred other museum visitors. The walls are covered with stunning frescoed maps of Italy and the known late 16th century world. It offers an insight of the world view of those living during those time.
Then of course there is the Sistine Chapel itself.
To be completely honest, by the time we got to the Chapel we were both suffering from sensory overload. I did not get a feeling of awe or reverence – I just felt like a sardine in a jam-packed room, full of people staring at the ceiling. There were the Vatican bouncers who kindly instructed people to not block the passage ways, not to take photos or videos, and to get a move on. To be honest, neither of us got a good look at any of Michelangelo’s masterpieces.
I would love to have a dedicated visit to the chapel in the future – less a few thousand people – in order to really drink it in. Maybe the answer is to get there early and go directly to the chapel?
By the time we squeezed out of the chapel we were both ready to get the hell out – we ran the gauntlet of gift shops and made our way down the Spectacular Spiral Staircase at the exit which was also a highlight of the visit!
After going through the Vatican Museum I felt several things. First was a sense of overwhelm, not just by the collection but also the number of visitors.
Reminiscent of Disney World
I was also reminded of my visit to Disney World in Orlando, both Disney and the Vatican are iconic landmarks that attract huge crowds, both are master story tellers – with the Vatican telling the story of the Christian faith, art and of human creativity and achievement.
Both the Vatican and Disney left me with a very strong sense of commercialism. I left feeling like I had encountered a well-oiled money extraction machine. Like Disney, the Vatican Museum also features a slew of souvenir shops, with the later selling religious knick knacks and replicas, capitalizing on the visitors desire to take a piece of the experience home.
The Vatican Museums, like Disney Worlds rides made my head spin.
In this corner – The Borgese Gallery
After several days of recouperation we paid a visit to the Borghese Gallery which is nestled within the Villa Borghese Gardens in Rome. Its charm resides within a human scaled 17th-century villa, originally designed as a private residence.
The Borghese Gallery tells the story of art, power, and passion, showcasing the exquisite taste of Cardinal Scipione Borghese, a patron of the arts and nephew of Pope Paul V.
A Feast for the Senses
Every corner of the gallery is a union of art and architecture.
The villa is full of frescoed ceilings, intricate stucco work, and rooms of elegant proportions. Each room feels like a jewel box full of amazing treasures, rooms where art and architecture perfectly complement each other.
The main reason we wanted to visit the gallery was the Sculpture Collection
We were not disappointed. The highlight for us was the collection of sculptures by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. His pieces, Apollo and Daphne, The Rape of Proserpina, Aeneas, Anchises, and Ascanius, as well as David, are absolutely mind boggling.
Bernini’s ability to render marble into dynamic human forms with flesh-like textures is truly awe-inspiring.
The sculptures have the ability to tell a compelling story without either movement or words.
Paintings: A Kaleidoscope of Masterpieces
The gallery’s painting collection is equally impressive, featuring works by the masters Caravaggio, Titian and Raphael.
Personal Reflections:
I found the gallery’s scope to be manageable giving me the chance to focus and relax. Compared to the Vatican it was easier to appreciate the gallery, without the fatigue and the overwhelm.
The Borghese Gallery does an excellent job of managing the number of people allowed inside to prevent overcrowding, which resulted in an intimate and enjoyable experience.
Differences Between the Vatican Museums and the Borghese Gallery
The scope of the Vatican Museum is vast and encyclopedic, ranging from ancient Egyptian artifacts and classical Roman sculptures to Renaissance masterpieces and contemporary religious art. Multiple days would be required to fully explore the Vatican collection. The sheer volume of art and the number of visitors is completely overwhelming.
The museum dishes up a mind-boggling feast. The experience is analogous to eating 20 pounds of Gelato in one sitting – it is impossible to digest. The Sistine Chapel is the Last Cherry that can even put Mr. Creosote over the top.
In contrast, the Borghese Gallery is much more focused, intimate and serene. I felt like I was able to focus on individual works without feeling rushed.
The Vatican I found to be vast, imposing and crowded.
The Borghese Gallery was charming, intimate, and approachable.
Leaving the Vatican I felt dizzy and overwhelmed, where as the Borghese Gallery left me feeling uplifted and energized.
I am grateful to have visited both of these essential Roman institutions. They offer two very different experiences, both experiences I would be eager to relive again.
PS – I don’t believe there are any works by Titan in the Vatican Museum, Clash of the Titans is therefore figurative.
