For a breezy escape from the big-city noise and intensity, head for the Borghese Gardens, Rome’s “Central Park.” Romans are proud of their generous green spaces. This sprawling park has long offered people here a place to relax, unwind, and let the kids run wild.

The park’s centerpiece is the Borghese Gallery. Once a cardinal’s lavish country villa, today it welcomes the public.

The wealthy Borghese family filled their 17th-century villa with art. This was the age when the rich and powerful not only collected beautiful art but actually employed leading artists to spiff up their homes.

Cardinal Borghese was the pope’s nephew and one of the wealthiest people in Rome. With unlimited money, his palace dazzled with both fine art of the past, such as Raphael’s exquisite Deposition, and with the best art of the day — like this Caravaggio.

Each room features a masterpiece — like this intriguing look at Napoleon’s sister, Pauline, by Canova. The polished marble is lifelike — even sensuous.

Again, Rome is the birthplace of the Baroque style and Gian Lorenzo Bernini — who sculpted some of his greatest works for this collection — is considered its father.

Bernini’s David is textbook Baroque. Bursting with life, David’s body — wound like a spring and lips pursed as he prepares to slay the giant — shows the determination of the age. Bernini was just 25 when he sculpted this — and the face of David is his.

Bernini’s Apollo Chasing Daphne is a highlight. Apollo — happily wounded by Cupid’s arrow — chases Daphne, who’s saved by turning into a tree. In typical Baroque style, Bernini captures the dramatic moment when, just as Apollo’s about to catch Daphne, her fingers turn to leaves, her toes sprout roots…and Apollo’s in for one rude surprise.

The statue — as much air as stone — makes a supernatural event seem real. This classical scene — while plenty fleshy — comes with a church-pleasing moral: Chasing earthly pleasures leads only to frustration.