We missed getting into the Borghese this trip (which is ending today - flying home tomorrow). In the final last time slot of the day, they offer 1 hour, 45 minute shortened visits, 5:15 PM to 7PM. We were told by a local who phoned them that three slots for that time Saturday (2 days ago) were still available as of Friday afternoon, but I couldn’t see that on the Website when I got the message. Phoning them the minute they opened at 9AM on Saturday, Oct. 23, they said they were sold out “until” November 8. That’s a Monday, and they’re closed on Mondays. Maybe the response by a native English-speaker would’ve been sold out “through” November 8, or “until” the 9th. At any rate, that’s 2 weeks away. Or, as you said, they’re not looking beyond the first week of November right now?!?
There’s a Damien Hirst temporary exhibit going on at the Borghese, which is likely driving up demand for entrances. Tickets from a scalper may be one option, but we passed on spending $70 apiece.
Whether you go to the Borghese or not, also consider visiting the Palazzo Doria Pamphili. In downtown Rome, it’s a magnificent place, started by contemporaries of the Borghesi, full of art and amazing surroundings. A prince and princess still live there (he narrates the audio guide), descendants of the nephew of Pope Innocent the Tenth. That nephew was briefly made a Cardinal, but he quit to marry. An avid collector, he amassed masterpieces by Titian, Caravaggio, van Bruegel (both the Elder and the Younger), among many, many others. There are Bernini sculptures, too, although not quite on the scale of the Borghese. No time limit, so you can visit longer than the maximum 2 hours the Borghese allows, and just €14. A Hall of Mirrors, smaller than that at Versailles, but still amazing. The rooms themselves are stunning, too, each different, and splendid. Some ancient Roman artifacts, too. Well worth seeing, in addition to, or maybe instead of the Borghese Gallery.
