The Settimana della Cultura (Culture Week), now in its fourteenth edition, will begin on Saturday, April 14 and will run through Sunday, April 22, 2012. For these nine days, monuments, museums, archaeological sites, archives, and libraries owned and operated by the State will be open FREE to the public.
In addition, there will be special events and opportunities to visit some sites rarely open to the public.More than 3,000 events all across Italy are available for everyone: exhibitions, conferences, special openings, workshops, guided tours and concerts that will make it even more of a special experience for all visitors.
In Lazio, the region Rome is in, there were 350+ “events” scheduled during Culture Week last year – so there will be plenty to do all over Italy! Please note that the Vatican, which is a separate country, DOES NOT participate in the Italian Culture Week – so you’ll still have to pay to go into the Vatican Museums. In addition, there are a few privately owned museums that also do not participate in this State-sponsored event.
The Colosseo, Forum, Palatine Hill, etc. will all be free. So will the Uffizi or Academia Galleria in Florence. Despite the crush of tourists, lines are not too bad at all – even to the Colosseo! At some sites, like the Colosseo, you still have to have a ticket to go through the turnstile, so you may have to wait in line… to get your free ticket. For these reasons, I still would use the Forum or Palatine Hill Entrance to avoid the “free ticket” line at the Colosseo during peak hours.
The Ministry for Culture and Environment (MiBAC) sponsors La Settimana della Cultura. You can get more info at the website of Il Ministero per i Beni Culturali e Ambientali. As the Culture Week nears, MiBAC will update their website with a complete list of events. When you visit the website, you can look at the scheduled events by Region… so no matter where you are headed in Italy, there will be cultural events happening these 10 days. The website has little information currently but will be updated as the Settimana della Cultura approaches.
Culture Week: April 14, 2012 through April 22, 2012.
Limiting yourself to only carry-on luggage is a great choice when flying. It’s also quite helpful on trains as you can store your smaller, carry-on sized bags behind or over your train seat. At train stations in Italy, you’ll be hard-pressed to find porter service… and those narrow entry stairs on the trains seem to get higher the heavier your bags are! So consider traveling ONLY with a carry-on bag. Above are some great buys.
For USA guests, see more Carry-On Luggage Options at our Travel Store, Magellan’s Travel Supplies, or look in amazon.com. Non-USA Guests can search for luggage at amazon.co.uk.
Limiting yourself to only carry-on luggage is a great choice when flying. It’s also quite helpful on trains as you can store your smaller, carry-on sized bags behind or over your train seat. At train stations in Italy, you’ll be hard-pressed to find porter service… and those narrow entry stairs on the trains seem to get higher the heavier your bags are! So consider traveling ONLY with a carry-on bag. Above are some great buys.
For USA guests, see more Carry-On Luggage Options at our Travel Store, Magellan’s Travel Supplies, or look in amazon.com. Non-USA Guests can search for luggage at amazon.co.uk.
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Header: ITA Roma Foro di Traiano Panorama – Photo by KWO Tsoumenis
adinda, the MAXXI is a state-run museum so it should be free during Culture Week.
Hi Ron,, will MAXXI the contemporary art museum and Macro participate in this event and open to public for free? if yes, it will be such a great news. thank you and God bless you for this website.
Nigel – Yes and Yes to your questions… I’d book my reservations as soon as possible.
Ron, this is great info.
Do you know if the Galleria Borghese participates in Culture Week? I imagine that if so the 2 hourly reservation slots would be even more difficult…
Linda – if you want a tour and to be shown around the Colosseo, then I suggest you book a tour. If you just want to avoid the lines, then you can get the “free” entry tickets at either the Forum or Palantine Hill entrances.
There are plenty of tours available. You might try one of these: Ancient Rome and Colosseum and Skip the Line – Ancient Rome and Colosseum Art History Tour
Hi again,
Any suggestions on Colosseum tours would be appreciated
Linda
Hi Ron,
I will be in Rome from April 15th to 19th. I had no idea it was cultural week until now. I guess that’s good news, but I was just about to book a tour of the Colosseum with a tour group. If it includes entrance fees I guess I’m paying more than I have to, but would be willing to do so it it means no lines. Any advice on how to handle this?
Linda
thanks a lot, you are so kind
I would not go a day earlier, rather save yourself some money. I doubt it will be any less crowded at certain parts of the day. Many people do not even realize the Colosseo will be free. So save yourself some money. You’ll still ned a “ticket” to get through the turnstile and they hand them out (FREE!) so you might head to the Palatine Hill or Forum entrance to pick up your Free entry ticket and thus avoid any lines at the Colosseo. With ticket in hand, just walk straight to the turnstiles.
I’ll plan to visit rome on 12-15 April 2012. If i visit the colosseum on sat 14, will it be ok? is it too crowned twice bed it’s saturday??? should i pay for the entrance fee and visit on 13 before the culture week begin???
Nancy, I don’t think you’ll notice any more tourists during Culture Week than in an “in-season” period. I don’t think you’ll notice a huge influx of tourists there to capitalize specificaly on this period.
*Just to clarify – I caught that “crush of tourist” bit, I’m just wondering if you know whether or not that is the standard amount of tourist for the spring, or if we are talking about a huge influx for this week. Thanks again!
Hello! Thanks for this detail, I was having trouble figuring out when it would be this year. One question – Do you know if this is usually a tourist heavy time? It sounds very interesting and just happens to fall in the week I was already planning to be visiting, but honestly I’d rather pay for everything if it means that this week the country will be overrun. Thanks!
Olga, as noted in the 3rd paragraph… the Vatican is a separate country and does not join in the Culture Week celebrations.
What about the vatican museums?