Borghese Gallery

We began the day by walking outside the ancient Roman city walls to the Borghese gallery, which is located in Rome's very nice central park.  The gallery was the private residence of Cardinal Borghese who was an avid art collector.  The gallery is most know for incredible marble sculptures by Bernini, but is also houses works by Raphael and Caravaggio.  The building is also a massive work of art in its self with every wall and ceiling painted

After the museum we took a break for a few hours for lunch and to explore the new part of town we were in.

For the last part of our organized day, we visited the crypts of the capuchin monks, which contains the skeletal remains of 4,000 bodies believed to be Capuchin friars buried by their order. The Catholic order insists that the display is not meant to be macabre, but a silent reminder of the swift passage of life on Earth (Frank J. Korn, "Hidden Rome").  Everyone seemed to leave the crypts with different thoughts about the rooms, but we all appreciate how different parts of Christianity worship and remember the dead.

The end of our time in Italy is approaching and it's hard to believe tomorrow is the last day, but all good things must come to an end.  We will treasure every last minute available on this trip.