BOOK PRESENTATION: I DESTINI DELLA COLLEZIONE BORGHESE. ACQUISIZIONI, ALLESTIMENTI, DISPERSIONI NELL’OTTOCENTO

The book explores a lesser-known chapter in the history of the Borghese collections. While they are traditionally studied at the height of their splendour in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the collections underwent profound changes during the nineteenth century. Often described as a time of break-up and loss, this period instead emerges as lively and complex, shaped by growth, reorganisation, divisions, and later reunifications.

While a substantial part of the collection remained intact and was turned into a public museum—preserving the value of an exceptional historic collection—many works of art and elegant furnishings entered the art market and were dispersed across collections worldwide. The story of the collection is closely tied to the history of the Borghese family and the decisions of its key figures, from Prince Francesco to his son Marcantonio V, and finally to Paolo, whose bankruptcy at the end of the century led to the dispersal of works not protected by the fideicommissary restriction.

The Borghese collections thus stand as powerful witnesses to a long tradition of enlightened patronage, as well as to the profound changes that marked the decline of an old social order and the birth of a united Italy.

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