The extension of the Galleria Borghese is going ahead

Rome. “There’s no bulldozer, there’s no blueprint… there’s just an idea and one certainty: no one will touch the main building of the Galleria Borghese. How can you stir up controversy over an idea?” Judging by the audience, one would not have thought we were at a press conference. Journalists constitute only a small fraction of the audience, which includes university professors, frowning former superintendents and retired officials from the Ministry of Culture, joined by a former minister and mayor, Francesco Rutelli, who is directly involved in the matter. We are at the Roman Aquarium, headquarters of the Order of Architects, right halfway between Piazza Vittorio and Termini station. The international architectural competition for the extension of the Borghese Gallery is being presented, with two proposals: the construction of a new building (of no more than 3,000 square metres) or the enhancement of the complex’s smaller, non-listed structures. On the podium are Francesca Cappelletti, director of the Borghese Gallery, and Marco Lombardi, CEO of Proger, an engineering firm working on the Strait Bridge, Rome’s waste-to-energy plant and the metro systems in Turin and Milan, but which, as an act of pure patronage, is funding the design. The company has entrusted the chairmanship of its Arts and Culture unit to Rutelli himself, who has taken the matter to heart no less than Simona Sala, director of Radio Tre, who is moderating the press conference and acts as a sort of UN special envoy for the project: she is trying to convince the more cautious voices on the left, challenging the usual Italian culture of apathy and campaign-style stagnation.

In recent months, in fact, the affair has sparked furious controversy. Tommaso Montanari, who is an unrivalled champion of this ‘Italy of indignation’, said: “It’s a disgrace, like building an extension on top of Brunelleschi’s Dome.” But the issue has also made an impact on the right. The Deputy Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Fabio Rampelli, tabled a parliamentary question, convinced that the project had not been approved by the MIC. He even called for the resignation of Director Cappelletti, “who treats the Gallery as if it were her own back garden”. All this without there even being a project in place. It is therefore only natural that she should wish to get a few things off her chest: “No one can or wants to touch the building. Furthermore, although ours is an autonomous museum, on 5 August we received the official letter of endorsement from the MIC authorising the publication of the call for tenders. We don’t even water the garden without consulting the Ministry.” Cappelletti then gets to the heart of the matter: “Over the past few years, we have realised the need to acquire further spaces, an issue that had already been raised by several colleagues who preceded me.”

The figures speak for themselves. Since 2022, the year of recovery from the pandemic, visitor numbers have risen by 86 per cent, reaching around 631,000 in 2026. However, nearly 100,000 are left out. “Every day we have queues stretching for kilometres of people hoping to get a last-minute ticket. It’s not a civilised situation,” says Cappelletti. The director has tried to adapt: “We’re organising night-time visits and have reopened the gardens where there are temporary exhibitions to broaden what we have on offer.” Nor is it merely a question of visitor numbers. “We’d like an additional exhibition space for the hundreds of works currently in storage, which are already on display but can only be accessed via a small spiral staircase – certainly not suitable for all visitors.” And that’s not all. “We need educational workshops for schools and for restoration, and a space to welcome visitors in a more dignified manner – where we could, for example, show a video presentation of the museum – but we also need technical spaces for our own use.” And here her account takes a surreal turn: “At the moment, we don’t even know where to store the extremely expensive crates used to transport the artworks, nor the display cases; we are forced to rely on external storage facilities.”

The call for tenders for the museum’s extension went live yesterday and comprises two stages: in the first stage, which closes on 13 November, architectural practices and associated professionals may submit applications. An internal committee at Proger will select the five finalist practices based on their CVs. These finalists will then submit their designs by 18 March. Just under two months later, an independent committee comprising institutional representatives, experts and museum directors of international standing will evaluate the proposals and select the winner. The winner will receive 500,000 euros from Proger to carry out the technical and economic feasibility study. Proger will not be involved in either the feasibility study or the construction. “Why are we doing this, then? There are countless reasons,” explains Lombardi, “including a company’s social responsibility, but also our reputation.” Proger’s CEO then reiterates: “We will donate the final design to the Gallery, the local council and the ministry, who will decide whether to go ahead with it or scrap it.”

There are so many arguments in favour that even the most sceptical members of the audience seem convinced. A former director of Rome’s historic villas recalls how the smaller artefacts in the Gallery are often left unused and that it would be fantastic to see them put to use in this way, whilst a now-retired superintendent, Maria Grazia Filetici, praises the project. Only one sceptic remains: Enzo Borsellino, a professor of museology at Roma Tre: “If the new spaces are to be used for reception, workshops and works in storage, how do you intend to resolve the issue of those who are unable to visit the museum? These seem to me to be two separate issues,” he asks. Rutelli replies directly: “If you have more space, you can spread people out and, little by little, let everyone visit the museum.” “No ’mbuti,” the former mayor’s most famous impersonator is said to have remarked.