Scipione Borghese

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Cardinal Scipione Borghese (1576-1633) was an Italian Renaissance art collector and member of the noble Borghese family.

Originally named Scipione Caffarelli, he was born in Rome, the son of Francisco Caffarelli and Ortensia Borghese, sister of Camillo Borghese, the future Pope Paul V. His father ran into financial difficulties, so Scipione's education was paid for by his Uncle Camillo. Upon Camillo's election to the papacy in 1605, he quickly conferred a cardinalship on Scipione and gave him the right to use the Borghese name and coat of arms.

Borghese’s first work after entering the Sacred College where he studied, was the building and decoration of the oratory chapels of Sant’Andrea & Sant Silvia beside Gregorio Magno. For Borghese to complete such a project declared his devotion to the city’s Christian heritage, while also marking a gesture of respect for the great Church reformer of the previous generation. The restoration of San Sebastiano fuori le mura (Nov 1607-14), a church built under Constantine (c.312) housing the greatest collection of relics known at the time. San Sebastiano was in addition on of the seven churches in Rome & its restoration was a key element in the pilgrimage driven revival of the circuit. Borghese’s restoration was in effect a complete modernization: rebuilding the main façade, adding a rear entrance, and thoroughly overhauling the interior in a modern decorative idiom.

In the classic pattern of papal nepotism, Cardinal Borghese wielded enormous power as the Pope's secretary and effective head of the Vatican government. On his own and the Pope's behalf he amassed an enormous fortune through papal fees and taxes, and acquired vast land holdings for the Borghese family.

In the 1st half of his career, Scipione’s church building was associated w/ his commendatrial or titular duties; in the later pd his public patronage was more wide-ranging, intervening at San Crisogono, Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Santa Maria della Vittoria, Santa Chiara a Casa Pia, San Gregorio Magno, as well as builing new churches in the nearby towns of Montefortino and Monte Comparti. During the Ludovisi papacy the major focus of Borghese’s ecclesiastical patronage was on commemorative projects. The 1st was the embellishment of the Cafarelli chapel in Santa Maria sopra Minerva (1620-23). The 2nd was the massive timber catafalque decorated w/ life size plaster figures designed by Bernini, erected in Santa Maria Maggiore (1622). The most striking feature of the restoration is the incidence of Borghese’s name & symbols. Atop the portico’s parapet stand eagle & dragon (the Borghese symbols) statuettes; underneath is the façade dedication: Scipione Borghese, Grand Penitentiary, Cardinal and Priest of the Holy Roman Church, A.D. 1626. His coat of arms in the major panels of the ceiling long axis is mounted not as normal in excucheons, but directly in the frame, the keystone of the proscenium arch at the end of the nave; underneath an inscription at the base of the baldachin dome there is another inscription.

Cardinal Scipione Borghese was an important art collector, with major collections of Caravaggio, Raphael, and Titian. He also bought widely from leading painters and sculptors of his day, and his commissions include two portrait busts by Gian Lorenzo Bernini[1][2].

He developed a large estate and vineyard on the Pincian hill in Rome into a vast garden and complex of palaces, the Villa Borghese. A major part of his art collections is preserved at the Galleria Borghese.

Cardinal Scipione Borghese died in Rome in 1633 and is buried in the Borghese chapel in Santa Maria Maggiore.de:Scipione Caffarelli-Borghese it:Scipione Borghese no:Scipione Caffarelli-Borghese sv:Scipione Borghese