My first “To do” takes us to the Galleria Borghese in Rome. The art gallery is inside the former Villa Borghese Pinciana, which is located in a lovely park on the outskirts of Rome. The villa was primarily used by Cardinal Scipione Borghese to house his art collection. Galleria Borghese’s collection started from Scipione Borghese’s own private collection, which is why it is fairly small and why the pieces are in such good condition.

Read the rest of this blog at http://travelverse.wordpress.com/

Summary: very rude staff with poor attitude. very unsafe bag check area, zero security. no mention of no bag and camera before you buy your ticket. no refund or exchange after you are not agreed to leave your bag behind.

I am sure most people agree there are some great scultures and paintings in the Gallery and it is a must see. No doubt about it but I got a really bad experience with their staff. We got the ticket, the lady was just doing a routine job, no eye contact, no smile, just print us the ticket, that's fine. We were told to head to the bag check counter because no bag is allowed inside. We headed there and I felt unsafe to leave my bag with my $3000 camera and lens with them because it looks like they are just putting all the bags behind a room or something behind the counter and no locks, they just give you a number like coat check. I expressed my concern in a normal tone and the staff just said it's safe, it's safe. I asked who is going to be responsible for any lost or damage, they said it's them (pointing at himself). I asked who is going to insure them (the staff), they said the whole gallery. Then they started to raise the voice and this is exactly the guy said twice "it's safe, it's safe. I don't care if you want to leave your bag here or not, I don't care." Then he walked away from the counter towards the cafe or something while yelling and not looking at me either. So now the counter which they claim is safe has no staff standing. I can easily walk in there and take whatever I want and leave, there is absolutely zero security and this is exactly I was worried. I ended up letting my friends going to the gallery first and waited them to come back and watch for my bag when they are done so I can go up an quickly see what's interesting.

While waiting, I realized the ticket says it's only valid for 2 hours. So kindly asked the ticket staff if I could have a time slot change. Without looking at me at all and she said "I cannot change it, there is no change or refund on your ticket" and then point at a piece of paper. "You should leave your bag there and go". Again no eye contact, no smile but at least she was not yelling. I said that is fine.

I don't want to waste my time to tell them there is no mention of no bag or camera before I commit to buy the ticket as I notice it seems no one can do anything. There is only one simple rule for them in their mind, no bag in the gallery. If I have known this ahead of time, I would not buy my ticket.

I went to several other galleries, and churches and in general, the other staff or security were fine and sometimes nice.

The gallery and the park are a must when visiting Rome. The park is beautiful and you can spend hours walking and taking in a beautiful setting. The Borghese Gallery is exciting and full of history. They only allow you to visit 2 hours and then they empty the museum. When we were there the museum was sold out so do as we did and get advanced tickets. I guarantee you that you will not see everything there is to see in 2 hours and you will want to return to get it all.

I agree with every word the previous reviewer writes; the Borghese is gorgeous, a feast for the eyes and for the senses. The Berninis are awe inspiring and the general lushness of the museum is intoxicating. It's worth every euro - more so than anything else we spent money on in Rome. Don't miss it and don't forget to make your reservation in advance.