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A few weeks ago, a spring day dawned clear and cool, and we found ourselves wandering the Villa Borghese, admiring the umbrella pines and watching children play peek-a-boo behind the statue of Byron.

Our stroll included a visit to the Galleria Borghese and because we were completely spent after two hours of admiring jaw-dropping Berninis and Caravaggios, we sought some refreshment, but weren’t interested in spending our afternoon in the Borghese’s own basement cafe.  Rather, we decided to immerse ourselves in the stunning light and air of a late April day, just wandering about and hoping that a little sip of something might present itself.  That’s when we discovered Tea & Butterflies, an event currently being staged in the Uccelleria or Aviary of the Borghese villa.

We entered through the Meridiana, or sun dial, of the villa, paying a mere 7 euro (5 if you have a Feltrinelli Piu card or are a child or senior citizen) for an encounter with some of nature’s most beautiful winged creatures and a tea in a baroque birdcage. After a stroll through the formal gardens (above) we made our way into the Uccelleria, slipping through nets placed at the door to help contain the butterflies flying unconstrained inside.

The aviary,  built in the early 17th century — at almost the same time as the Villa (now museum) — was built to house the Borghese’s collection rare birds, a function we know that it served in the years from 1616-19, for archival records attest to the fact that exotic species were on view there.

Inside this splendid and over sized birdcage, various species of butterflies flew about, often landing on walls embellished with fragments of the original 17th-century frescoes depicting agricultural scenes, pergolas, festoons and birds.

Knowing practically nothing whatsoever about butterflies, we were fascinated to see them in all stages of life, from the caterpillars (which seemed to be crawling about in a bed of some wild green vegetable of the type that’s common in every Roman trattoria–ma, what else would one expect a Roman caterpillar to eat?) to beautiful winged creatures emerging from cocoons to full-grown specimens that gracefully flapped about as we sipped tea and munched on biscotti.

All-in-all, it’s a lovely event, so if you’re making  your way on over to the Villa Borghese and want to add some nature to your artistic experience, you can do so through 23 May.  Tea with Butterflies is open from 9:30am to 6:30pm.