The Pantheon will be paid for. New agreement signed between the ministry and the basilica

The Pantheon will be entered by paying a ticket. What for so many years was a hypothesis, an idea, until it almost materialized in 2018, is now a reality. Rome ’s great temple has always been free of charge, despite the fact that in December 2017 the then minister Dario Franceschini had decided to introduce, starting in May 2018, a 2-euro ticket: a project that, however, was not followed up due to the change of government (the new minister Alberto Bonisoli, who took over from Franceschini, in fact decided to keep the free admission). The current Minister of Culture Gennaro Sangiuliano had already revived the hypothesis last December, and today came the agreement between the Ministry of Culture and the Chapter of the Basilica of Santa Maria ad Martyres-Pantheon, who signed the new convention containing the regulations for the use of the Basilica of Santa Maria ad Martyres-Pantheon.

According to the new agreement, an entrance fee to the Pantheon Complex will be introduced for an amount not exceeding 5 euros, the proceeds of which will be divided as follows: 70 percent in favor of the MiC and 30 percent in favor of the Diocese of Rome. Under 18s, protected categories, and teachers accompanying school groups will be exempt from payment, as is already the case for museums, while children under 25 will pay 2 euros as per the ministerial reduction established by former minister Bonisoli. In addition, the Pantheon will be free, not only for those eligible according to the relevant ministerial provisions, but also for the canons of the Basilica Chapter and lay and religious staff, including volunteers, all clerics and honor guards at the Royal Tombs of the Pantheon. Finally, entrance for worship and religious activities will continue to be free. For the enjoyment of the Basilica outside the hours reserved for religious services and pastoral activities, the Ministry will provide for the regulation of the orderly flow of visitors, with special attention related to the respect due to the monumental sacred building, the behavior to be maintained during the visit and all the necessary precautions for the decorum of the Basilica.

The Ministry will be responsible for ordinary and extraordinary maintenance and cleaning expenses, also taking into account any requests for interventions that may be received from the Chapter. The Diocese of Rome will use the resources for charitable and cultural activities and for maintenance, conservation and restoration of state-owned churches in its territory. Subsequent agreements between the Ministry and the City of Rome will regulate free access for residents of the Capital and the allocation of part of the resources to the Capitoline Administration.The ticket will be introduced as soon as the technical steps necessary to allow visitors to purchase the coupon are completed.

Signing the act, in the presence of Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano and Auxiliary Bishop of Rome Monsignor Daniele Libanori, were Director General of the General Directorate of Museums, Massimo Osanna, Director of the State Museums Directorate of the City of Rome, Mariastella Margozzi, and Camerlengo Monsignor Angelo Frigerio.

“In just three months,” said Minister Sangiuliano, “we have come to define a goal based on common sense: to charge a modest fee for the most visited cultural site in Italy. Citizens of Rome will be excluded from the fee. The resources raised, part of which will also go to the municipality and part earmarked for poverty support actions, will be used for the care and redevelopment of the Pantheon.”

The Pantheon will be paid for. New agreement signed between the ministry and the basilica

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