Items22The creator’s order
  1. 1Apollo and Daphne (Bernini)Apollo and Daphne (Bernini)Galleria Borghese, Room III If one work justifies the whole Borghese booking, it is this. Bernini carved it in his early twenties, between 1622 and 1625, and caught the instant Daphne turns into a laurel tree: bark climbs her legs, leaves sprout from her fingers and Apollo's hand lands on a body…0
  2. 2The Rape of ProserpinaThe Rape of ProserpinaGalleria Borghese, Room IV The detail everyone remembers is Pluto's fingers pressing into Proserpina's thigh, and it is worth getting close for: hard marble made to look like yielding flesh. Bernini finished the group in 1622, and it is far from a gentle myth, so it may not suit every child. Look…0
  3. 3David (Bernini)David (Bernini)Galleria Borghese, Room II Michelangelo's David waits; Bernini's, carved in 1623, is already mid-throw, with the stone loaded in the sling and the whole body wound up to let it fly. Stand where David is aiming, roughly where Goliath would be, and the figure feels as if it is about to burst out of…0
  4. 4Aeneas, Anchises, and AscaniusAeneas, Anchises, and AscaniusGalleria Borghese, Room VI Visitors racing between the famous three often skip this one, which is a shame, because it shows where Bernini started. Made in 1618 and 1619 for Cardinal Scipione Borghese, it stacks three generations fleeing burning Troy: Aeneas carries his old father on his shoulder,…0
  5. 5Truth Unveiled by Time (Bernini)Truth Unveiled by Time (Bernini)Galleria Borghese A personal work rather than a commission, made after his bell tower for St. Peter's was torn down in 1646, one of the worst blows of his career. Truth sits holding a small sun in one hand, with a globe under her foot, but the figure of Time who was meant to unveil her was never…0
  6. 6Ecstasy of Saint TeresaEcstasy of Saint TeresaCornaro Chapel, Santa Maria della Vittoria This is Bernini as stage director. Made between 1647 and 1652 for Cardinal Federico Cornaro's family chapel, it shows the saint swooning as an angel holds an arrow over her, with golden rays pouring down and daylight falling from a window hidden behind…0
  7. 7Sant'Andrea al QuirinaleSant'Andrea al QuirinaleVia del Quirinale The best way to see Bernini the architect without a crowd. Built for the Jesuits between 1658 and 1670 on a cramped site, it is an oval turned sideways, with the entrance and high altar on the short axis, so the whole interior seems to wrap around you the moment you step in. Look…0
  8. 8Fontana del Tritone, RomeFontana del Tritone, RomePiazza Barberini Bernini's first freestanding public fountain, built for Pope Urban VIII in 1642 and 1643, sits in the middle of a square full of traffic, so it is easy to pass without noticing. Cross over and look properly: four dolphins hold up a shell, and on it a muscular Triton blows a jet of…0
  9. 9Fontana della BarcacciaFontana della BarcacciaPiazza di Spagna, at the foot of the Spanish Steps A family piece: the fountain came out of a collaboration between Gian Lorenzo and his father, Pietro Bernini. Romans fondly call it the Barcaccia because it looks like a half-sunken boat, a design probably inspired by the Tiber's floods. It sits…0
  10. 10Sant'Andrea delle FratteSant'Andrea delle FratteBernini's two original angels from Ponte Sant'Angelo Of the ten angels on the bridge by Castel Sant'Angelo, Bernini carved two himself: one holding the crown of thorns and one with the INRI inscription. They were judged too precious and fragile to leave outside, so copies by his students went up…0