Museums

Free entry to Italian state museums on first Sunday of every month!

We all like a freebie, right? Well how about free tickets to over 300 Italian state museums, gardens, monuments and archeological sites? Interested? Thought you might be!! Read on…….

Useful information

Il Ministero per i Beni Culturali e Ambientali (The Ministry of Culture and Environment) official website links –

Sunday at the Museum website

Friday at the Museum website

Video in Italian https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-iphzJ6clI

Free admission at over 300 Italian state museums, archeological sites, gardens, monuments and galleries

Domenica al Museo free tickets

The government initiative called Domenica al museo, or Sunday at the Museum, has been running since July 2014 when the Italian Minister of Culture announced a range of new ideas to encourage people to take more of an interest in the arts.

Sunday at the museum – Free entry to Italian state museums on the first Sunday of every month!

Amongst the measures revealed by Minister Franceschini were that state art institutions would be free on the first Sunday of every month! That’s free! For everyone! Every month!! Not bad eh!

Domenica al museo – free entry to Italian state museums on the first Sunday of the month

The list of participating museums etc can be found on the Italian Ministry of Culture and Environment website. Unfortunately there's no English version but its reasonably easy to work out. Alternatively, make sure you have Google Translate or a good Italian-English dictionary on stand by!

And trust me, there are some gems on the list including the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, the Colosseum in Rome and the Academia Gallery in Venice.

Free entrances to Pompeii

That's right! On every first Sunday of the month, even Pompeii is open for free to visitors! Make sure to double check the site though since the free entrance will often times be from 9AM-12PM and from 2:30PM until closing.

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As you can imagine, however, some of the larger museums can get quite busy so some have an online reservations system while others use the old tried and tested first come, first in method. I’d advise you to check the particulars of your chosen venue before you go to make sure you don’t miss out!

It’s also worth mentioning that not every museum takes part. Private and civic museums are not part of the scheme although they have been invited to join in so it’s worth asking – you never know!

Night at the Museum free tickets

The ministry initiative also announced two annual “Nights at the Museum” when venues will stay open late into the evening, or even through the night. Entrance is set at just a Euro so, again, it’s a great way to get people in through the turnstiles. More details of participating sites can be found on the Ministry of Culture and Environment’s website.

Friday at the Museum – Extended Friday night opening at Italian museums

Two more free museum entry schemes

And two more limited schemes have been launched in 2016 –

2 for 1 tickets on Valentine Day – more info here

Free entry for women every year on International Women’s Day, March 8th here

Photography is now allowed in Italian museums

Another major change is that many museums now allow photography as long as you don’t use a flash. So the Doge’s Palace in Venice no longer reverberates to the shouts of “No foto!’ by palace wardens and we are all free to take photos from any angle of Michelangelo’s taught-torsoed Davide in Florence’s Accademia Gallery! Personally, this is a great step forward, as long as visitors don’t forget to actually look at the art as well as photographing their favourite pieces, although be aware that many museums and galleries have banned the selfie stick so always make sure you check before you click!

Selfie sticks are increasingly banned at Italian museums and galleries

Don’t touch the artwork

Oh and by the way, whilst Minister Franceschini has removed some of the old barriers to our enjoyment of art, touching sculptures and artwork is still absolutely forbidden in most museums, as is leaving your mark in pen or graffiti so look with your eyes, not your fingers! It seems an obvious thing to say, but tourists have recently been caught carving their names into the Colisseum and have damaged a number of sculptures in their attempts to get photos etc – please be respectful or face the consequences! (The Colosseum vandals were fined €20,000!)

So as museums and monuments, galleries and gardens all across Italy prepare to throw open their doors for free all that’s left for us to do is check out which one(s) we’re going to visit! Italy not only tops the UNESCO world heritage site list but also has a long and complex history as a conqueror and leader in art circles so your choice is almost endless! Where will you be joining the celebration of art, archeology and all things horticultural? Leave me a note with your recommendations and reviews of your favourite museums or gardens! And next time you’re planning a trip or vacation to Italy, make sure to check the calendar and make a note in your diary for the first Sunday of the month – you could get to see Italy’s priceless art and archeology treasures for free!