Franceschini announces: free Sundays at museums will return permanent year-round

Cultural Heritage Minister Dario Franceschini has announced that free Sundays at museums will return to a permanent, year-round status. The current minister thus gives another blow to the measures of his predecessor Alberto Bonisoli, which in a few months were almost totally zeroed out. It had in fact been Bonisoli who had apportioned the free Sundays according to a different logic: the measure had remained in place in the “low season” months (October to March), while the free Sundays of the summer months had been “moved” to a single week in March, the so-called “museum week.”

Franceschini’s announcement comes on the sidelines of the first free Sunday of 2020, which, predictably, was a success, with 24,000 visitors to the Colosseum, 11,000 to Pompeii, 10,000 to the Boboli Gardens, nearly 10,000 to the Pitti Palace, 7,000 to the Uffizi, 7,000 to the National Roman Museum, and over 6,000 to the Accademia Gallery in Florence. Attendance, however, was very high at several Italian museums, which recorded admissions of more than a thousand throughout Italy.

“Culture,” Franceschini said, “is for everyone and it is really a celebration to see so many citizens and families going to visit the museums in their cities. Since its first edition in July 2014 more than 17 million people have gone to the museum for free with this promotion. It’s a real success: that’s why Free Sunday will return to be permanent all year round for all state museums.”

Pictured: Dario Franceschini. Ph. Credit Francesco Pierantoni

Franceschini announces: free Sundays at museums will return permanent year-round

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