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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.
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.
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 potrait busts by Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
He developed a large estate and vineyard on the Pician 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.
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