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Roman Forum, Rome, Italy, Temple of Saturn The classic wonders of Rome

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    A garden of scandalous sculptures

    From iconic basilicas to gardens with a past, Italy’s capital city has served as a stunning backdrop for thousands of years’ worth of history. Once the lavish gardens of the 17th-century cardinal who bequeathed the park its name, Villa Borghese has long been Rome’s favourite place to escape the city’s hectic streets. In the 19th Century, the villa’s once-formal gardens were fully landscaped in a more naturalistic style, before being bought by the Roman authorities and given to the public in 1903. Today, busts and statues from 1,000 years of the city’s great and good are scattered throughout, including the once-scandalous sculpture of Cardinal Borghese’s wife and Napoleon’s sister, Pauline. The piece depicts her as a naked goddess of love, much to the cardinal’s chagrin. (Justin Foulkes)

A garden of scandalous sculptures

From iconic basilicas to gardens with a past, Italy’s capital city has served as a stunning backdrop for thousands of years’ worth of history. Once the lavish gardens of the 17th-century cardinal who bequeathed the park its name, Villa Borghese has long been Rome’s favourite place to escape the city’s hectic streets. In the 19th Century, the villa’s once-formal gardens were fully landscaped in a more naturalistic style, before being bought by the Roman authorities and given to the public in 1903. Today, busts and statues from 1,000 years of the city’s great and good are scattered throughout, including the once-scandalous sculpture of Cardinal Borghese’s wife and Napoleon’s sister, Pauline. The piece depicts her as a naked goddess of love, much to the cardinal’s chagrin. (Justin Foulkes)

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