May 17, 2012

La Notte dei Musei 2012

Just confirmed is the date for this annual Europe-wide event that sees museums and galleries open until late at night – into the next morning – with special events and free entry. The date for the 2012 edition is the 19th of May, but as yet the official site is not updated with the 2012 [...]

Italy museums – free openings on Christmas and New Year’s day

Some (well, a lot) special openings on the 25th December 2011 and the 1st of January 2012, when many museums and archaeological sites across Italy will be open, free of charge. The list is a long one – see it here – but perhaps the most significant venue is the Colosseum in Rome which will [...]

Italy, 2012 Settimana della Cultura

*** Added, March 30th 2012 – the authorities in Rome have announced that the Colosseum is, for this year, to be excluded from this scheme. See blog post here. A sign of changing times? Last year it was the first days of January, this year we’re not yet out of November and the dates for [...]

Pisa, annual ‘Luminara’ celebrations

Pisa, the 16th of June 2011 (well, the 16th of June every year) ‘Luminara di San Ranieri’ A justly very popular event, this celebration of Pisa’s patron saint sees the town, especially the Lungarno (riverside) area, decked out with candles and torches, with celebrations, costumed processions, music and a grand finale fireworks spectacular. This is [...]

Venice’s first ever ‘White Night’ – Art Night Venezia

Venice has announced that it’s to join the list of Italian cities holding a ‘White Night’ with the ‘Art Night Venezia’ taking place on the 18th of June 2011. The vast majority of galleries and museums will be open until midnight and beyond (with free entry to boot) and there will be a wide range [...]

La Notte dei Musei – 14th May 2011

La Notte dei Musei – 14th May 2011 This Europe-wide initiative sees countless museums open late into the night of Saturday 14th May and into the morning (until 2.00 AM) of the 15th, with special events and free entry. Notably absent are most – if not all – of the first tier names, but nonetheless [...]

Settimana della Cultura, Italy, 2011

We first posted about this year’s edition of the annual culture week, the ‘Settimana della Cultura’ when it was first announced at the beginning of January. Below is the just released official video for the initiative in which the luckiest child in the world becomes the luckiest boy in the world, going on to become [...]

Martedi in Arte 2011

A big success last year, 2011 sees a repeat of the ‘Martedì in Arte’ initiative – free evening entry to a host of state run museums on the last Tuesday of each month. To save you digging out a calendar, the dates for 2011 are: 29th March 26th April 31st May 29th June 26th July [...]

Brera Gallery, Milan – free entry

We’ve already posted that the Brera Gallery will have a late night (free) opening on the ‘Notte Tricolore’ of the 16th March, and we can now add that (in common with many other museums in Florence and elsewhere), the gallery will also be open, with free entry, on the 17th March also. Tickets for the [...]

Florence, 17th March 2011, free museum entry

Having just posted about some special late night openings on the night of the 16th March 2011, now follows the official announcement from the Florence authorities that there will be free entry to the major Florence museums and galleries on the national holiday of March 17th. If you are visiting on the 17th March 2011 [...]