By Crispian Balmer
ROME, May 14 (Reuters) – Italian heritage groups have said they will battle proposals to build a new structure near Rome’s Borghese Gallery, saying the project would damage one of the world’s most famous museums for the sake of mass tourism.
The Borghese collection, which brings together Baroque masterpieces by Bernini, Caravaggio, Raphael and Titian, is housed in a 17th century villa that sits in a Rome park, complete with landscaped gardens and ornamental fountains.
The proposed expansion, which is only at an initial phase, would involve creating a new building in an area adjacent to the gallery, allowing the museum to display more of its collection and increase visitor numbers.
The gallery limits entry to 180 people per time slot, which are often booked out weeks in advance, leaving many tourists who pour into Rome disappointed.
The museum has said it needs more space, including to show works currently kept in storage, and has proposed holding an international competition for the architectural design. It is due to give more information on the project next week.
However, several heritage groups said building in such a sensitive setting would upset the balance between art and nature that has survived for more than four centuries.
“One must truly hope that this outrage is cancelled,” the Friends of Villa Borghese association wrote on Facebook, promising to take legal action to halt the scheme.
Art historians have also taken up cudgels against the plan.
“The mere idea of injecting one cubic metre of concrete into the Borghese park … amounts to a resounding blasphemy against the nation’s cultural heritage,” said Tomaso Montanari, an art professor and an expert on Roman Baroque.
Rome City Council has approved a preliminary, fact-finding mission by the museum, but said this was non-binding and denied reports that it had given its blessing to the enlargement.
“Rome Capital is interested in being involved in this initiative from the outset, in order to ensure the full compatibility of the plans … with the need to protect Villa Borghese,” the municipality said in a statement.
Rome has seen a sharp increase in tourists following the COVID-19 pandemic, with a record 22.9 million visitors booking into registered accommodation last year, against some 14 million a decade earlier.
This surge has swamped many of Rome’s main tourist attractions, with almost 15 million people going to the Colosseum last year. The Borghese Gallery registered a record 630,760 visitors in 2025, against 506,440 a decade earlier.
(Reporting by Crispian Balmer; editing by Alvise Armellini, Alexandra Hudson)
