FIFA 2016: Galleria Borghese

Museo Italia – Galleria Borghese

Film by Mimma Nocelli

Italy | Italian | subtitled English | 2015 | 50 min | documentary

NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

The film introduces to the viewers the magnificent Villa Borghese, the ancestral house of the noble Roman family Borghese. The Villa, along with its entire art collection, and together with all the grounds and gardens, was sold to the State of Italy in 1901 by the Borghese heirs for 3.6 million liras. This was indeed a very generous transaction on the part of the Borghese family, especially when one considers that at the same time Baron Rothschild was offering to buy only one of many paintings housed in the Villa for 4 million liras.

The Villa was commissioned by Scipione Borghese (1577-1633), who was a Cardinal and a nephew of Pope Paul V. It was intended to be a summer residence at the edge of Rome, and also a a party villa. It was build by the architect Flaminio Ponzio, but Cardinal Scipione Borghese developed sketches for it by himself.

Cardinal Scipione Borghese was patron of arts. He was an avid art collector with a great taste, vast art knowledge, and he housed all his art acquisitions at his lavish Villa Borghese. Cardinal Scipione Borghese was also the patron of the painter Caravaggio and the sculptor Bernini. The works of these two artists are shown and discussed at length in the film.

The camera shots are almost never still. The camera moves from the gardens inside the Villa, and then from one room to the next, exposing the interior splendour of the Villa and the works of art inside it. The shooting angle is moving constantly, showing the works of art from various perspectives, and zooming in on various details in a rapid succession. 

Official Synopses:

"The most beautiful private collection in the world” is how Canova described Cardinal Scipione Borghese’s collection at the turn of the 17th century. A nephew of Pope Paul V, Scipione built the Villa Borghese in a large park just outside the walls of Rome to house this exceptional collection, which ranged from ancient works to contemporary pieces by such masters as Caravaggio and Bernini. Thus arose the modern concept of the collector: curious, refined in taste, quick to identify quality and the spirit of the time."

Mimma Nocelli

After studying architecture in Rome, Mimma Nocellia began directing programs, concert recordings, music videos and documentaries for Italian television.

Filmography | Viva Africa, série, 15 épisodes ; Amerindia, série, 15 épisoes ; Poiesis, série, 5 épisodes ; Tutti in scena ; Donne al bibio ; Une notte con Zeus.

Production Team:

Screenplay Antonio Paolucci
Artists Scipione Borghese, Le Caravage, Le Bernin
Producer Pasquale D'Alessandro
Production RAI 5

For more information and film scheduling, visit the Art FIFA website.

Film Screenings:

Saturday March 12 | 12:30 PM | Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal - Auditorium Maxwell-Cummings.

Friday March 18 | 10:30 AM | Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal - Auditorium Maxwell-Cummings 

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