Borghese Gallery & Villa Borghese Questions ??
 

OK, so I confess that I'm confused. I read my 3 Rome travel books, I read the Borghese website, & I did a search here - but I am still confused & I still have lots of questions!

1. Villa Borghese - is this a villa (as in building structure) or a park or both? I've been to the park; is Villa Borghese it's name?

2. I understand what the Borghese Gallery is & how to make reservations & it is a must see. But what are these & are they in the Borghese Gallery? They were listed on the Borghese Gallery website.
Spada Gallery
Consini Gallery
Venezie Gallery
Barberini Gallery
Open Museum of Tredinte (sp)
Palazzo Ducale di Urbino
Rocca Dinaniale di Gradana

3. Anyone been thru the Etruscan Museum? If so, please share.

4. Roma Pass gives discount; plus for other sites. Is it worthwhile? Does it include free use of the bus & metro? Will be in Rome for 8 days & will use the bus & metro & see Palatine Hill, Colosseum, Gallery Borghese, prob. Etrucscan Museum, & others I am sure.

5. One tour book said bus #116 (the mini-bus) goes right up to Borghese Gallery. Is this true in your experience? I don't want to be late.

6. ****Important - what should be our plan of attack during our limited 2 hours in the Borghese Gallery to maximize what we see & to maximize our enjoyment.

7. We want to visit the museum shop. Must that be done within our 2 hours?

8. One tour book said there are boats to rent for the lake. Where is that in the park?

9. To walking tour the park (we just took a few minutes & stayed close to the entrance at Via Veneto), anyone advise a plan? It appears to be very large.

Sorry, but I sure hope I get some answers. Maybe there are others who are confused like me!

Thanks in advance, Julie

1. It's the name of the park. The villa is now called the Galleria Borghese.

2. The Galleria Borghese is only the Galleria Borghese. It's on two floors.

Barberini Palace, Venezia Palace, Spada Gallery, Corsini Gallery and Musical Instruments are other museums in Rome.

As the Web site explains, "The Trident, the urban area enclosed within the three street axes branching off from Piazza del Popolo, is the heart of Renaissance and Baroque in Rome, the most representative place in a city where art, history and everyday life have always stood uniquely as a whole." If you look at a map, you'll
see what they mean.

Palazzo Ducale di Urbino and Rocca Dinaniale di Gradana are in the region of Le Marche, on the other side of Italy. I have no idea why they appear on a Web site otherwise devoted to Rome. Maybe they're administered from Rome, which is a weird way of doing things, but in Italy, anything's possible.

3. I've been through the Etruscan National Museum in the Villa Giulia several times. It's not very well laid out, the labels are not very clear, but there are some stunning pieces of Etruscan art. The portico of the villa, which is in the Villa Borghese (park), has some delightful frescoes.

4. RomaPass gives you two museums (or archeological sites) for free and a reduction on others. It also gives yu free public transportation for three days. If you're staying eight days, you will probably not take all your buses/metros on only three of those days. Look at the Web site and the list of participating museums and decide whether it's worth your while. Also look at the CIS weekly pass at www.atac.roma.it. It's good for seven days.

5. It wasn't true on the day I took it to go to the Galleria Borghese. It stopped at the Porta Pinciana, and it was a bit of a walk from there to the Galleria Borghese. On some days, it might go to the museum, but I wouldn't count on it. Give yourself enough time to stand in line for your ticket and to check everything, even your handbag. (Take valuables with you in the plastic bag they should provide.)

6. Some people go up to the upper floor and look at the paintings first. Just give yourself enough time for the paintings.

7. No, it's not within your two hours.

8. I haven't a clue.

9. One nice way to do it is to meander through the Villa Borghese in the direction of the Piazza del Popolo and then down.

I think you need a better map...

Thank you Zerlina for taking the time to give all of that info. I'll copy it to my Rome Sightseeing doc. I'll also get my reservations made.

Thanks again, Julie

Julie - I love the way you outline/word your questions. You got great answers, too. I ditto that 2 hours will be just right for the museum visit. We utilized the audio tour as I always need extra info. We took a taxi from our hotel (Albergo del Senato) to and from the Borghese - reasonably priced as we were watching our time carefully. FYI - you have to check your backpacks before you go through - be sure you don't have valuables in them. I've read of items "disappearing"...

Have a wonderful trip!

The Galleria Borghese is listed on the Romapass as a participating museum. If I want to use the pass as one of the 'free' entrances, how does that work with the requirement to reserve in advance? It might say on Ticketeria.it that you can (a)reserve but pay later or (b)prepay with credit card.

If this is correct, then I presume that with (a) I go 1/2 hour early and pick up tickets and how the Romapass. Is there any other fee, such as the 2€ booking fee?

Actually that is not the name of the park, it's just what a lot of people call it. The name of the park that surrounds the galleria Borhese is Pincio Park.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...&y=-1el6rs

The lake with rental boats is about a 10-minute walk from the Borghese Gallery. We picked up a free park map in a bookstore at a theater inside the park, near the Via Veneto entrance (at least I think that's where it was). They may have them at the museum as well. The lake is well-marked on the map. They rent row boats - we didn't do it, but saw a number of boats with adults and children. We were just there last week.

Hi Travelnut:
You need to make a reservation online for Galleria Borghese BEFORE your trip and SOON. There is no cost to make the reservation. You need to pick a 2hour time slot.
Once in Rome, you show up 30-45 minutes before your scheduled entrance and go to the ticket counter and show your Roma Passes and pay the reservation fee. You will be given your tickets.
At ten minutes before the start, they will ring a bell outside and everyone with that time slot gathers at the front door.
IF YOU DON'T HAVE A RESERVATION, YOU WON'T GET IN. People were being turned away when we were there in late June.

We rented a row boat and I believe it was 4 euro for 20 minutes..something like that. The lake is tiny so it was plenty of time.

I think the Borghese Gallery is my husband's and my favorite museum. We went twice on our last trip just because two hours isn't enough time to really see it all.

We took the guided tour which was great. Then we went back and just read all the cards they have available with lots of information on each room.

If you can't do it twice, I would still recommend taking the guided tour for your one trip.

You can spend as much time in the museum shop after your two hours in the gallery.

Have a wonderful time at the Borghese. Bernini's work is just fantastic.