By 1 am on Sunday 20,000 people had entered Rome鈥檚 Borghese Gallery, free of charge, to see nine paintings - five belonging to the Borghese and four on loan from other galleries in Rome 鈥 by Caravaggio. The 鈥渘otte bianca鈥 [all-night opening] was held to celebrate the four-hundredth anniversary of the artist鈥檚 death on 17th or 18th July 1610.
Art students were on hand to guide visitors and explain the paintings and in the nearby gardens two giant screens showed films about the master.
The Churches of San Luigi dei Francesi, Sant鈥橝gostino and Santa Maria del Popolo also remained open to display their Caravaggios and special buses took tourists from the Borghese to the churches.
Rome鈥檚 superintendent of Museums, Rossella Vodret, said that the all-night show was a fitting tribute to an artist who had so often used the night as a backdrop to his paintings.
Recently bones thought to be Caravaggio鈥檚 have been found in Porto Ercole [Tuscany] and the Vatican newspaper, L鈥橭sservatore Romano, has reported that a 鈥渘ew鈥 Caravaggio painting depicting the Martyrdom of St Lawrence may have been found in Rome.
The painting is currently being analysed by experts.
