ART AND SOLIDARITY AT THE GALLERIA BORGHESE – APRIL 25TH AND MAY 1ST

Yesterday, Monday April 25, the Galleria Borghese has given to 150 refugees of all ages the opportunity to visit, free of charge, the treasures of its collection and the exhibition Guido Reni and Rome. Nature and Devotion, in collaboration with the Community of Sant’Egidio and in particular with the Scuola di Lingue e Cultura Italiana, which has been present in Rome and other Italian cities for over 30 years as a welcoming place for integration, where migrants and refugees can learn not only the Italian language but also the richness of our culture.

The Museum, which will repeat this special initiative on Sunday May 1st, has decided to make its exceptional collection of masterpieces available to those involved in the project to support experiences of socialisation, living the city and better understanding the culture and history that surrounds them. An initiative that focuses on the Museum as a place that welcomes and embraces, and promotes an inclusive and accessible experience of Culture.

The visitors, who came from over 40 countries, many of them at war, were able to admire the masterpieces of the collection, from classical statuary, to works by Caravaggio and Bernini, in particular Aeneas, Anchises and Ascanius, the first large sculptural group created by Gian Lorenzo for Scipione Borghese and depicting the episode of Aeneas’ flight from Troy, with his elderly father on his shoulders and his young son Ascanius behind him. Aeneas, who escapes the flames and the war and is forced to flee far away in search of a new homeland and a new life, is the ancient hero who embodies the fate of the millions of refugees and migrants who came to visit the Museum yesterday and will come on Sunday May 1st.

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