First date of the year with free museums: On Sunday, January 7th, there will again be the opportunity to visit the rooms of the museum system of the capital Rome and some archaeological areas of the city free of charge.
Free museums on the first Sunday of the month
On the first Sunday of the New Year, January 7th, all visitors – residents and non-residents of Rome – have free access to the municipal museums and some of the city's archaeological areas. On Sunday, namely the Sacred Area of Largo Argentina (Via di San Nicola De' Cesarini in front of number 10, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., last entry at 3:00 p.m.), the archaeological area of the Circus Maximus (from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., last entry). 3:00 p.m.) and the Imperial Forums (entrance from Trajan's Column 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., last entry one hour before closing).
The offer is rounded off by the opening of the following community museums: Capitoline Museums; Trajan's Markets – Museum of the Imperial Forums; Ara Pacis Museum; Centrale Montemartini; Museum of Rome in Palazzo Braschi; Museum of Rome in Trastevere; Modern Art Gallery; Museums of Villa Torlonia; Moorish greenhouse of Villa Torlonia; Municipal Zoological Museum; Giovanni Barracco Museum of Ancient Sculpture; Carlo Bilotti Museum – Villa Borghese Orangery; Pietro Canonica Museum at Villa Borghese; Napoleonic Museum; Museum of the Roman Republic and the memory of Garibaldi; Casal de' Pazzi Museum; Museum of the Walls; Villa of Maxentius.
The initiative is promoted by Roma Capitale, Ministry of Culture – Capitoline Superintendence of Cultural Heritage. Free entry depending on seating capacity. Reservation required for groups only at the Roma Capitale Contact Center 060608 (9:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.).
Free citizen museums
Both the permanent and temporary exhibitions are freely accessible, starting in the Capitoline Museums (Piazza del Campidoglio 1), where the exhibition “The Summers” continues in the ground floor rooms of the Palazzo dei Conservatori. Rome, October 16, 1943, curated by Yael Calò and Lia Toaff, which remembers their stories through the exhibition of documents, newspapers, drawings, photographs, but above all objects from the daily lives of people – women, men, children Those who were alive that day, from all districts of the capital, were arrested and never returned. In the Tapestry Hall of the Palazzo dei Conservatori you can see the VRBS Roma exhibition, the gilded glass depicting the goddess Roma, the personification of the city according to widespread iconography, with helmet and spear, found during the excavations for the construction of the Metro station C to Porta Metronia.
In the rooms on the third floor of Palazzo Caffarilli you can see La Roma della Repubblica, the second chapter (after the exhibition La Roma dei Re in 2018) of the Il Racconto dell'Archeologia cycle, based mainly on the collections kept in the municipality's possession based warehouses and museums of the Superintendency. The exhibition is enriched by multimedia content that tells the events of Rome's republican history over the centuries in an evocative and engaging way. Finally, in the Sala della Lupa and the ancient glories of the Palazzo dei Conservatori, “The Legacy of Caesar and the Conquest of Time” tells the story of Rome from its beginnings to the dawn of the Imperial Age, while in the Palazzo Clementino “I Colors” can be seen of the old man. Santarelli Marble in the Capitoline Museums, a comprehensive overview of the use of colored marble from its origins to the 20th century, through a refined selection of pieces from the Santarelli Foundation. (www.museicapitolini.org).
At the Trajan's Markets – Museum of the Imperial Forums (via IV November 94), with the exhibition “Imago Augusti”. Two new portraits of Augustus from Rome and Isernia offer visitors the opportunity to immerse themselves in the emperor's intense dialogue with his young self. Two marble portrait heads of Augustus, found during archaeological excavations in the Via Alessandrina in Rome, in the area of Trajan's Forum and along the Via Occidentale in Isernia, allow a vivid comparison of two moments in the emperor's life. (www.mercatiditraiano.it) Double offer for the museums of Villa Torlonia (via Nomentana 70). The new exhibition “Under the Sign of Cambellotti” can be admired in the rooms of the annex building of the Casina delle Civette. Virgilio Retrosi, artist and artisan. The exhibition project dedicated to Virgilio Retrosi (Rome 1892-1975), an artist represented in the collections of the Museum of Rome with the 14 parade panels dedicated to the historic districts of Rome, aims to present to the general public the Figure of an artist who dedicated his life to applied art.
On the last day at the Casino dei Principi you can admire the first exhibition in Italy of FERRARI SHEPPARD (Chicago 1983), currently considered one of the most interesting American artists of the latest generation. The exhibition entitled “CRUCIBLE” and curated by Ludovico Pratesi presents, in addition to the video Be in My Mind (www.museivillatorlonia.it), eighteen works, eleven of which were created specifically for the Roman exhibition. In the Museum of Rome in the Palazzo Braschi (Piazza San Pantaleo 10 – Piazza Navona 2) last opportunity to visit opposite. Tenerani Spina. Dialogue in pictures. An “encounter and comparison” between 25 models of marble sculptures by Pietro Tenerani, representing prominent figures of Italian and international society of the 19th century, and the photographic images of Luigi Spina, one of the greatest contemporary art photographers. For the contemporary Italian art program QUOTIDIANA, which takes place in the rooms on the ground floor and is promoted by the Quadrennale of Rome, the LANDSCAPE section exhibits the works of the artists Francesco Arena, Rossella Biscotti and Claire Fontaine, created based on a text by Daphne Vitali, while Luca Marcelli Pitzalis exhibits for the PORTFOLIO section the work Correspondences Vol. I, resulting from an email exchange between the artist and users subscribed to a special newsletter sent every second Wednesday at ten in the evening a year in which he asked his interlocutors to answer. (www.museodiroma.it) Three exhibitions can be admired at the Museum of Rome in Trastevere (Piazza S. Egidio, 1/b). In the rooms on the first floor, Lou Dematteis. A trip back. Photographs in Italy 1972-1980, visual diary, expressed through photography, of four trips made to Italy by the American photojournalist of Italian origin Lou Dematteis in 1972, 1977, 1979 and 1980. In addition, this Sunday, with free entry, the Museum of Rome in Trastevere offers the last opportunity to admire two unmissable exhibitions: in the rooms on the ground floor Philippe Halsman.
Blitz of genius, photographic exhibition dedicated to Philippe Halsman, one of the most original and enigmatic portraitists of the 20th century, with over a hundred images in different formats, between color and black and white, spanning his entire career, selected by Contrasto and Archivio Halsman of New York; on the first floor illustrations for non-existent books. On the occasion of the 100th birthday of the writer Giorgio Manganelli, Artists with Manganelli presents a striking number of writings that he dedicated to the visual arts, as well as works of art explicitly inspired by his texts, especially those of his artist friends and companions. (www.museodiromaintrastevere.it).
In the rooms of the Modern Art Gallery (via Francesco Crispi 24) there are numerous proposals, including “Poetry is looking at you”. Homage to Gruppo 70 (1963-2023), a selection of works by one of the most interesting artistic associations born in the context of the neo-avant-garde and Italian verbo-visual research, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the birth of Gruppo 70. In The other rooms of the GAM are “Dance Student. “The Return” by Venanzo Crocetti, one of the first large-format sculptures dedicated to the theme of Crocetti's dance, which returns in all its splendor after about two years of careful and specialized restoration by the ICR technicians. And again Laboratorio Prampolini #2 – Notebooks, drawings and unpublished projects from Futurism to Art Club, an exclusive project with which we want to draw attention to the artistic multilingualism and interdisciplinarity of Enrico Prampolini in the period from the 1930s to the 1950s, that is at the height of his career and the artist's creative exuberance. Finally, you can admire StenLex in the monastery garden. Rebirth – site-specific artistic intervention and urban banner created specifically for the gallery in collaboration with Wunderkammern Gallery. (www.galleriaartemodernaroma.it).
The Museum of the Walls (Via di Porta San Sebastiano, 18) hosts the exhibition Garbatella – The Heart of a Neighborhood in 100 Strikes of Light, a multi-year photo project by Zhanna Stankovych, Ukrainian classical composer and pianist, writer and photographer with passion, for 25 years Based in Rome. The theme of the project focuses on the specificity of the Garbatella district, with particular emphasis on the human warmth and its popular spirit, despite its proximity to the majestic and lively historical center of the capital. (www.museodellemuraroma.it). The Pietro Canonica Museum (viale Pietro Canonica) in Villa Borghese hosts the exhibition El Dorado, curated by Alessandra Mammì with works by Renata Boero, Paolo Canevari, Valerio D'Angelo, Gianni Dessì, Rä di Martino, Flavio Favelli, Sabina Mirri, Elisa Montessori, Luigi Ontani and Alfredo Pirri. The “golden background” figuration, a technique whose traces can be found as early as the early Christian and Byzantine periods, has never ceased to attract artists, influencing their practices and stimulating new interpretations up to the present day. In the Carlo Bilotti Museum, also in the Villa Borghese (via Fiorello La Guardia 6 – viale dell'Aranciera 4), the exhibition “tense_intense” with works by Barbara Doser and Hofstetter Kurt, representatives of contemporary Austrian conceptual art. A fascinating exhibition tour full of videos, installations, prints, projections and sculptures, the common thread of which is the interweaving and simultaneity of opposites. (www.museocarlobilotti.it).
An exception to the free entry is: FIDIA, which takes place in the rooms of Villa Caffarilli, the first monographic exhibition dedicated to the greatest Greek sculptor of the classical age, offering an unexpected and exciting journey through multimedia installations, archaeological finds and Greek originals and Roman replicas, paintings, manuscripts, drawings, some exhibited for the first time; Helmut Newton. Legacy at the Ara Pacis Museum (with entrance to the exhibition from Via di Ripetta No. 180), an exhibition created in collaboration with the Newton Foundation and curated by Matthias Harder and Denis Curti, who reviewed around 250 photographs, magazines and documents have told the story with a new look at the uniqueness, style and provocative side of the famous photographer. (www.arapacis.it); the immersive visit to Circus Maximus in augmented and virtual reality, Circo Maximo Experience, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (every 15 minutes – last entry at 2:50 p.m.); www.circomaximoexperience.it). Reduced entry for MIC card holders.
All information and updates are available on www.museiincomuneroma.it and on the social channels of Roma Culture, the Museum System and the Capitoline Superintendence of Cultural Heritage. Museum services from Zètema Progetto Cultura.
Free State Museums
On January 7th, the first date of the year also with #domenicalmuseo, the initiative of the Ministry of Culture that allows free entry to museums, archaeological parks, castles, monumental complexes, villas and state gardens on the first Sunday of every month.
The tours take place during normal opening hours, if necessary with advance notice. Below is the list of museums open in Rome and its province:
- Greek Abbey of San Nilo Grottaferrata (RM)
- Antiquarium and archaeological area of Lucus Feroniae Capena (RM)
- Arch of the Malborghetto Rome (RM)
- Drugstore Museum and Portuense Necropolis Circuit Rome (RM)
- Galleria Borghese Rome (RM)
- National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art Rome (RM)
- Spada Gallery Rome (RM)
- National Galleries of Ancient Art – Corsini Gallery Rome (RM)
- National Galleries of Ancient Art – Palazzo Barberini Rome (RM)
- Autonomous Vittoriano Institute and Palazzo Venezia – Central Museum of the Risorgimento in Rome Rome (RM)
- Autonomous Vittoriano Institute and Palazzo Venezia – National Museum of the Palace of Venice Rome (RM)
- Autonomous Vittoriano Institute and Palazzo Venezia – Vittoriano Rome (RM)
- Monastery of San Benedetto Sacro Speco Subiaco (RM)
- Monastery of Santa Scolastica Subiaco (RM)
- Archaeological Museum of the Greek Abbey of San Nilo Grottaferrata (RM)
- National Archaeological Museum of Civitavecchia Civitavecchia (RM)
- National Archaeological Museum Prenestino, Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia and complex of buildings in the Forum of Praeneste Palestrina (RM)
- Boncompagni Ludovisi Museum of Decorative Arts, Costumes and Fashion of the 19th and 20th Centuries Rome (RM)
- Museum of Civilizations Rome (RM)
- Museum of Roman Ships of Nemi Nemi (RM)
- Giacomo Manzù Museum Ardea (RM)
- Hendrik Christian Andersen Museum Rome (RM)
- National Museum of Musical Instruments Rome (RM)
- National Museum of Castel Sant'Angelo Rome (RM)
- National Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia Rome (RM)
- National Roman Museum – Palazzo Altemps Rome (RM)
- National Roman Museum – Palazzo Massimo Rome (RM)
- Roman National Museum – Baths of Diocletian Rome (RM)
- Pantheon Rome (RM)
- Archaeological Park Ostia Antica – Castello Giulio II Rome (RM)
- Archaeological Park Colosseum – Colosseum. Flavian Amphitheater Rome (RM)
- Archaeological Park Colosseum – Roman Forum and Palatine Rome (RM)
- Appia Antica Archaeological Park – Mausoleum of Cecilia Metella and Church of San Nicola Rome (RM)
- Archaeological Park Appia Antica – Antiquarium of Lucrezia Romana Rome (RM)
- Archaeological Park Appia Antica – Basilica of San Cesareo de Appia Rome (RM)
- Archaeological Park Appia Antica – Park of the Tombs of the Via Latina and the Basilica of Santo Stefano Rome (RM)
- Archaeological Park Appia Antica – Villa dei Quintili and Santa Maria Nova Rome (RM)
- Archaeological Park Appia Antica – Villa di Capo di Bove – Rome (RM)
- Cerveteri and Tarquinia Archaeological Park – National Archaeological Museum Cerite Cerveteri (RM)
- Cerveteri and Tarquinia Archaeological Park – Necropolis of Banditaccia Cerveteri (RM)
- Ostia Antica Archaeological Park – Ostia Antica Archaeological Area Rome (RM)
- Archaeological Park of Ostia Antica – Complex of the ancient ports of Claudius and Trajan Fiumicino (RM)
- Archaeological Park of Ostia Antica – Fiumicino Ship Museum (RM)
- Ostia Antica Archaeological Park – Necropolis of Porto – Holy Island of Fiumicino (RM)
- Baths of Caracalla Rome (RM)
- Terme Taurine or Trajan Civitavecchia (RM)
- Hadrian's Villa and Villa d'Este – Hadrian's Villa Archaeological Area Tivoli (RM)
- Hadrian's Villa and Villa d'Este – Sanctuary of Hercules Victor Tivoli (RM)
- Hadrian's Villa and Villa d'Este – Villa d'Este Tivoli (RM)
- Livia's Villa Rome (RM)
- Villa of Orazio Licenza (RM)
The complete, constantly updated list of all openings can be found on the page: https://cultura.gov.it/domenicalmuseo.