Here are which state museums are open on Christmas Day. Sangiuliano: a duty

What state museums will finally be open on Christmas Day? Not a lot, but they are there. For those who might not be able to resist the lure of museums just on Dec. 25, here are the possibilities: open in Basilicata the National Museum of Matera (9 a.m. to 1 p.m.); in Calabria the National Archaeological Museum of Reggio Calabria (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.); in Campania the Reggia di Caserta (4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.), the Certosa di San Giacomo in Capri (9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.), the Archaeological Park of Herculaneum (8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.), the Duca di Martina Museum and Villa Floridiana in Naples (9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m:30), the National Archaeological Museum in Naples (9 a.m.-1 p.m., visitable only ground floor, Farnese Collection and Campania Romana, Gran Salone della Meridiana), the Royal Palace in Naples (9 a.m.-1 p.m.), the Archaeological Park of Pompeii (9 a.m.-1 p.m., openings of some buildings only), the Archaeological Area of Velia (9 a.m.-1 p.m.), the Museum of Paestum (9 a.m.-1 p.m.); in Emilia-Romagna , the Pinacoteca Nazionale in Bologna (open only Guercino exhibition and Baroque section, reduced price ticket) and Palazzo Pepoli Campogrande (9-13), the Complesso della Pilotta in Parma (9-13); in Friuli-Venezia Giulia , the Castello di Miramare (10-14); in Lazio , the Abbey of Montecassino (9:30-16:30), the Chapel of the Annunciation in Cori (9-5:30 pm), the Abbey of Fossanova (8-6:30 pm), the Greek Abbey of San Nilo (9-7 pm), the VIVE - Vittoriano and Palazzo Venezia (9-1 pm), the Appia Antica Park (9:30-1:30), Palazzo Barberini (9am-1pm, but only monumental halls, Caravaggio rooms and temporary exhibition), the National Roman Museum at the Baths of Diocletian only (10:15am-1:45pm), the Museum of the Civilization of Rome (9am-1pm), the Borghese Gallery (9am-1pm, sculpture floor only), the Monastery of St. Benedict in Subiaco (9:30-6 p.m.), Villa Adriana (9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.), Shrine of Hercules the Victor (9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.), Villa d’Este (9:30 a.m.-1:30), Basilica of St. Francis in Viterbo (9am-6pm); in Liguria the Royal Palace in Genoa (10am-2pm, closed Palazzo Spinola); in Marche the Antiquarium in Numana (10am-6pm), the Galleria Nazionale delle Marche in Urbino (9am-1pm); in Piedmont the Abbey of Vezzolano (10am-12pm:30 and 3:30-5 p.m.), the Archaeological Area of Augusta Bagiennorum (8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.); in Puglia the Swabian Castle in Bari (9 a.m.-1 p.m.) and the National Archaeological Museum in Taranto (10 a.m.-2 p.m.). In sites and regions not mentioned in the list above (some regional directorates in fact were not involved in the opening plan) museums will remain closed.

In fact, not all unions agreed to the request for museums to remain open. The meeting between the ministry and the unions was held last December 19, and all the main unions that protect cultural workers were present. During the meeting, according to union reports, it emerged that for the extraordinary Christmas openings, the resources made available are limited because they are burdened by the residuals of the 2023 Valorization Plan, while instead they are larger for New Year’s Eve as they are deducted from the 2024 Valorization Plan which is still intact. This is 160,000 euros for Christmas and 850,000 euros for New Year’s Eve. Workers will receive 210 euros (operators and assistants) and 230 euros (officials) in overtime.

CGIL and UIL decided not to sign the agreement with the ministry for Christmas Day (they agreed instead for New Year’s Day, by virtue of the greater willingness of workers to forego the holiday, the greater resources available and the fact that they would have more time to organize the extraordinary opening): “we have, from the outset, explained our difficulty in reaching an agreement to open the museums on Christmas Day so close to the date,” their respective secretaries, Valeria Giunta and Federico Trastulli, let us know, “also due to the fact that the monitoring of the 2023 leftovers could be started as early as mid-October, and we have, instead, said we were open to opening the discussion on New Year’s Day. We reiterated the perplexities already highlighted in the unitary note with respect to the need to activate a complex organizational machine so that a quality cultural offer can be realized and with museum openings in total safety. We also asked for explanations with respect to the exclusion of some Regional Museum Directorates from the Christmas opening, stating that we do not agree with the differentiation between workers.”

CISL and FLP, on the other hand, signed for both Dec. 25 and Jan. 1. “While we remain critical of the fact that for the Christmas opening the Administration, given the available resources that resulted in the non-involvement of some Regional Museum Directorates, we have given our willingness to sign an agreement that, between Christmas and New Year, comes to about 1 million for the two extraordinary openings,” the two unions let it be known. “In fact, we believe that the assessment on whether or not to join the project should be based on the evaluation that will be made at the local level and on the free choice of each worker who, with the utmost respect for the voluntariness of the initiative, will be able to give their support to the project or not. So many workers had signaled to us their unwillingness to these openings, but just as many had signaled to us the opposite. Not signing the agreement would have effectively limited the faculty of choice to which every worker, in our opinion, is entitled in the utmost expression of his or her individual freedom. One side of the table legitimately considered not signing the agreement, and the Administration decided to go ahead with the two projects anyway [...]. The Administration’s disastrous management of the event is there for all to see, but it was equally evident the considerable economic effort that is being put into it and which, always reiterating the unwavering principle of voluntary participation in the project that has been reiterated several times by the Chief of the Cabinet [...], will certainly be an opportunity for the Ministry and its employees.”

Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano, for his part, is beaming at the possibility of having some museums open for Christmas: “I think it is almost a duty we have to the world: during the holiday season many tourists and Italians will decide to spend Christmas in a city of art to go and see our beauties, so it’s good that the MiC organization will make cultural heritage usable.”

Image: Genoa, Royal Palace, Veronese Hall

Here are which state museums are open on Christmas Day. Sangiuliano: a duty

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