Expansion plans for Rome's Galleria Borghese draw fierce response

A privately funded feasibility study proposes an approximately €900,000 initiative to explore whether additional exhibition and visitor space can be added to the Villa Borghese Pinciana grounds. The plan would sponsor an international architecture competition and a feasibility study. Museum officials say the effort would address operational constraints caused by historic interiors and conservation requirements that limit access to 360 visitors per timed entry slot for two hours. Reservations can involve waits of several weeks, many works remain in storage, and accessibility for visitors with disabilities remains difficult. Visitor pressure has increased, with record attendance in 2025. Preservation organizations object to any new construction within a highly sensitive historic landscape, while museum leadership says no project or architectural proposal exists yet.

"Sponsored by the Italian engineering firm Proger, the approximately €900,000 initiative would fund an international architecture competition and feasibility study exploring whether additional exhibition and visitor space could be added to the Villa Borghese Pinciana grounds."

"Museum officials say the initiative would address longstanding operational constraints. The villa's historic interiors and conservation requirements limit access to 360 visitors per timed entry slot, which last two hours (around 4,000 visitors per day). Reservations can require waits of several weeks, many works remain in storage, and accessibility for visitors with disabilities remains difficult."

"Preservation organisations including Italia Nostra Roma and Amici di Villa Borghese (Friends of the Villa Borghese) raised objections to any new construction within one of Rome's most historically sensitive landscapes. The Galleria Borghese responded during a press conference on 18 May, where director Francesca Cappelletti emphasised that no project currently exists and the museum is only beginning a broader study process."

"In an email to The Art Newspaper, Cappelletti emphasises that discussions around the gallery's extension remain at an extremely early stage and that no architectural proposal currently exists."

Read at The Art Newspaper - International art news and events