Experience the Borghese Gallery with Dex
The Borghese Gallery Dex experience is an interactive self-guided tour available exclusively with selected Borghese Gallery admission tickets booked through Headout.
Put on your earphones and follow a story that unfolds through the villa’s twenty rooms, connecting Bernini’s sculpture groups and Caravaggio’s paintings with the frescoed ceilings, ancient mosaics, and Roman marbles built into the walls.
Historical and fictional characters lead you through stories of Cardinal Scipione Borghese and how he assembled the collection, Bernini turning marble into fleeting skin and leaves, Caravaggio’s rise and disgrace, Canova’s portrait of Paolina Borghese, and Titian’s Sacred and Profane Love, accompanied by original music and immersive sound design.
How Dex guides you through the gallery
- Dex uses your phone’s location to guide you along a recommended route covering the entrance hall and its gladiator mosaics; the Bernini rooms with Apollo and Daphne, David, and the Rape of Proserpina; the Caravaggio room; the Canova room; and the first-floor picture gallery.
- As you reach each location, it automatically begins the story connected to what you are seeing.
- The route is only the starting point. When a sculpture, a ceiling, or a face in a painting catches your attention, pause and ask your Dex guide a question.
- Photograph a supported sculpture, painting, or ceiling detail to uncover more about it, open a related story, or return to the route when you are ready.
- Dex also points you towards recommended viewpoints, photo spots, and rooms and ceilings that are easy to rush within the timed visit. You decide when to pause, where to go deeper, and when to continue.
How Dex differs from an audio guide and a group tour
An audio guide gives you a collection of prepared recordings. Dex builds those stories into a location-aware route, automatically connects them to what is around you, and lets you ask questions or investigate supported objects along the way.
A group tour gives you live interpretation from a human guide while following a scheduled departure, shared route, and group pace.
Dex offers a different experience: a structured tour that you can begin when you choose, pause whenever something interests you, and explore at your own pace. Choose Dex if you want the direction and storytelling of a guided visit with the freedom to explore the gallery independently.
Unlock Borghese Gallery Dex
Selected Borghese Gallery admission tickets booked through Headout unlock the complete Borghese Gallery Dex experience at no additional cost. It is not available as a standalone purchase or with tickets bought elsewhere.
After booking:
- Download the Dex app.
- Sign in with your Headout details.
- The Borghese Gallery experience will unlock automatically.