The weekend of 24 and 25 September, hundreds of museums all around Italy participate to the European Heritage days, promoted by the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism. On Saturday, there will be a special opening until 11 pm and tourists have the great chance to visit many of these museums and archaeological sites with only one Euro.
The European Heritage days were born in 1991 by an idea of the European Commission with the aim of enrich and support the cultural activities between the European countries. These days are an extraordinary occasion to confirm the importance of the culture in each society.
The European Heritage Days events take place in fifty countries of Europe that will celebrate and promote their treasures, traditions, histories and local communities with more than thirty thousands events.
In Italy, the artistic and cultural heritage is quite unlimited, and these days are a great opportunity even for less known institutions to add value to their treasures and show them at the world. By the years, the number of participants to this initiative increased a lot reaching almost thousand events organized by national museums, private galleries, foundations and private associations.
Uffizi Gallery in Florence
You can find the full list of the Italian museums that participate to the initiative, clicking here on the official website of the Italian Ministry of Culture.
#GEP2016 is the hashtag to use during the event if you wish to share your pictures and contents on your social media.
The European Heritage days in Tuscany
During the European Heritage days in Tuscany, you can spend your evening (until 10 pm) walking along the corridor of the famous Uffizi or admiring the beauty of the David at the Galleria dell’Accademia paying only one Euro. It is a great opportunity to catch, isn’t it?
Other interesting sites in Florence are the Bargello Museum if you like sculptures or the National Archaeological museums if you are into archaeology and you are interested in knowing more about the ancient inhabitants of Tuscany (there are remains of the Etruscans found in the archaeological park of Baratti and Populonia).
The Italian Gardens of Villa Garzoni in Collodi – Photo Credits: fdecomite
Moreover, scattered all around the region, you have plenty of choices: the Vasari’s house in Arezzo, the national museums of Palazzo Mansi and Villa Guinigi in Lucca, the spectacular Carthusian monastery of Calci in the province of Pisa. In Collodi, the Tuscan village famous for the children’s novel Pinocchio, during the two European Heritage days visitors can enter the thematic park dedicated to the wooden ragamuffin marionette that wish to become a real boy, or the beautiful Italian gardens of Villa Garzoli. Moreover, visitors have the unique opportunity to walk along the secret passageway (invisible from any angles) from the Villa to the castle of the Collodi. For more information contact the Fondazione Nazionale Carlo Collodi.
The Carthusian Monastery of Calci, Pisa – Photo Credits: Marco
Here is the list of the Tuscan museums that will be open until 10 pm or 11 pm on Saturday 24th with a fee entrance of only one Euro:
SITE | PROVINCE | TOWN | NIGHT TIMETABLE |
Museo delle Arti e Tradizioni Popolari dell’Alta Valle del Tevere – Palazzo Taglieschi | Arezzo | Anghiari | 19:00 – 22:00 |
Basilica di S. Francesco | Arezzo | Arezzo | 20:00 – 23:00 |
Museo Archeologico Nazionale “Gaio Cilnio Mecenate” | Arezzo | Arezzo | 19:00 – 22:00 |
Museo di Casa Vasari | Arezzo | Arezzo | 20:00 – 23:00 |
Museo Nazionale d’Arte Medievale e Moderna | Arezzo | Arezzo | 20:00 – 23:00 (last entrance 22:00) |
Abbazia di San Salvatore a Soffena | Arezzo | Castelfranco Piandiscò | 20:00 – 23:00 |
Villa Medicea di Cerreto Guidi e Museo storico della Caccia e del territorio | Arezzo | Cerreto Guidi | 20:00 – 23:00 |
Galleria d’Arte Moderna di Firenze | Firenze | Firenze | |
Galleria degli Uffizi | Firenze | Firenze | 19:00 – 22:00 |
Galleria dell’Accademia | Firenze | Firenze | 19:00 – 22:00 |
Cenacolo di Andrea del Sarto | Firenze | Firenze | 20:00 – 23:00 |
Cenacolo di Ognissanti | Firenze | Firenze | 20:00 – 23:00 |
Chiostro dello Scalzo | Firenze | Firenze | 19:00 – 22:00 |
Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Firenze | Firenze | Firenze | 20:00 – 23:00 |
Museo Nazionale del Bargello | Firenze | Firenze | 20:00 – 23:00 |
Museo di San Marco | Firenze | Firenze | 20:00 – 23:00 |
Villa medicea della Petraia | Firenze | Firenze | 19:00 – 22:00 |
Museo Archeologico Nazionale ed Area Archeologica di Cosa | Grosseto | Ansedonia | 20:00 – 23:00 |
Museo Nazionale delle Residenze Napoleoniche – “Palazzina dei Mulini” | Livorno | Portoferraio -Elba Island | 19:30 – 22:30 |
Museo Nazionale delle Residenze Napoleoniche – “Villa di San Martino” | Livorno | Portoferraio – Elba Island | 19:30 – 22:30 |
Museo Nazionale di Villa Guinigi | Lucca | Lucca | 19:30 – 22:30 |
Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Mansi | Lucca | Lucca | 19:30 – 22:30 |
Museo Nazionale della Certosa Monumentale di Calci | Pisa | Calci | 20:00 – 23:00 |
Museo Nazionale di San Matteo | Pisa | Pisa | 19:30 – 22:30 |
Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Reale | Pisa | Pisa | 19:30 – 22:30 |
Museo di Casa Giusti | Pistoia | Monsummano Terme | 20:00 – 23:00 |
Oratorio di San Desiderio | Pistoia | Pistoia | 20:00 – 23:00 |
Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Chiusi | Siena | Chiusi | 20:00 – 24:00 |
What are you waiting for? If I were you, this weekend, I would not miss this opportunity to visit some of the most attractions of our region spending only a Euro!