Galleria Borghese To Begin $11.15 Million Expansion Despite Outcry

(MENAFN- USA Art News) Rome's Galleria Borghese is moving forward with an $11.15 million (€10 million) expansion project, despite significant pushback from heritage groups and politicians. The 17th-century villa museum has launched an architectural competition to create an extension, according to Le Figaro.

This decision stems from a surge in visitors; the museum currently welcomes 700,000 visitors annually, with 60 percent coming from international locations. The Galleria Borghese houses paintings, sculptures, and antiquities by masters such as Bernini, Caravaggio, Canova, and Raphael.

Francesca Cappelletti, the museum's director, explained the necessity of the expansion to the French newspaper.“Until now, we have had to cap daily attendance at 2,000 people, allowing entry only to those who have booked online,” she stated.“Yet, every day, we see groups of international visitors in the park who are disappointed to find they cannot enter because there are no spots left.”

The new 3,000-square-meter extension, supported by Rome's Ministry of Cultural Heritage and the municipality, aims to facilitate the exhibition of works currently in storage, host new exhibitions, and include a restaurant, bookstore, and laboratory. Cappelletti emphasized that the existing heritage would not be altered, noting:“the solution must involve a contemporary structure. After all, look at the Louvre pyramid in France, it works perfectly.” The new structure is intended to complement the villa's distinctive white style and its surrounding park.

The Italian engineering firm Proger Spa, also a patron of the museum, is organizing the architectural competition. The deadline for candidates to express interest is November 13. Cappelletti clarified the selection process, saying,“Naturally, it is not the company, but rather a jury of independent experts and renowned international figures that will select the winner in mid-May 2027. We have no intention of relinquishing our role; the final decision rests with us. That said, every effort must be made to ensure that Italian public funds remain protected.”

However, the plans have met fierce opposition. Alix van Buren, president of the Friends of the Villa Borghese association, told The Times of London,“It is a grotesque proposal. It is blasphemy. The villa is one of the most perfect, unalterable artistic ecosystems that human genius has ever created. Not a single pin can be moved without upsetting the balance.” Michele Campisi, general secretary of the Italia Nostra heritage group, labeled the plans“bizarre,” suggesting the museum seeks to compete with the Colosseum for popularity. Tomaso Montanari, an art history professor at the Università per Stranieri di Siena, described the extension as“moronic” in the Italian newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano, comparing it to“building an extension on Brunelleschi's dome” at Florence Cathedral. Fabio Rampelli, vice-president of Italy's lower house of parliament and a key ally of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, publicly called for Cappelletti's resignation on Facebook, remarking,“Treating a space like this as if it were your own back garden is dismal.”

Source: ARTnews

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