On Sunday, 6 September 2026, Italy's state museums, monuments and archaeological parks will once again open free of charge. The Italian Ministry of Culture organises the Domenica al Museo, the Museum Sunday, on the first Sunday of every month. More than a thousand institutions across Italy take part in the initiative, from the Uffizi in Florence to the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan, the Colosseum in Rome, the Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Naples and the Musei Reali in Turin. Free admission applies regardless of age or origin, though advance booking is required at particularly busy venues.
Rome: Colosseum, Roman Forum, civic museums
The Archaeological Park of the Colosseum opens free of charge on 6 September, according to information on the ticketing page of the official Parco Archeologico del Colosseo. Free admission covers the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill. Free tickets are either reserved online or issued directly at the ticket office, depending on the site. It should be noted that the entire area has been designated a Zona Rossa with an increased police presence since 24 August 2026. Regular access to the park remains unaffected by this.
Alongside the Colosseum , Rome's civic museums are also taking part. According to the official overview published by the City of Rome for 6 September 2026 , the Capitoline Museums, the Centrale Montemartini, the Galleria d'Arte Moderna, the museums of Villa Torlonia and the Museo di Roma in Trastevere will all be free to enter, as will the Area Sacra at Largo Argentina, the Circus Maximus site and the Imperial Fora. The usual tourist traps near the Colosseum call for particular vigilance on Museum Sunday.
Florence: the Uffizi, Palazzo Pitti and the Accademia
In Florence , three of the city's most important museum complexes are taking part on 6 September: the Galleria degli Uffizi with its collection of Italian Renaissance painting, the Palazzo Pitti with the Galleria Palatina, the Royal Apartments, the Galleria d'Arte Moderna and the adjoining Giardino di Boboli, as well as the Galleria dell'Accademia, home to Michelangelo's David . All three venues offer free standard admission on Museum Sunday.
In addition to the national initiative, Florence is running the Domenica Metropolitanaon 6 September, which gives residents of the Metropolitan City of Florence free access to the civic museums and the Palazzo Medici Riccardi. For visitors without a Florentine address this does not directly affect admission, but it does affect the expected crowds: the first Sunday in September often coincides with the wave of returns from the summer holidays, making the Uffizi and the Accademia particularly popular destinations.
Milan and Turin: Brera, Cenacolo, Musei Reali
In Milan, free admission is available at, among others, the Pinacoteca di Brera with works by Raphael, Caravaggio and Piero della Francesca, the Cenacolo Vinciano with Leonardo's Last Supper in the refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie, and the state museums of the Castello Sforzesco. Advance booking is essential for the Cenacolo Vinciano owing to strictly limited entry allocations. Anyone who attempts to visit on the day without a ticket will not be admitted to the room on Museum Sunday.
In Turin, the entire Musei Reali complex is taking part in the initiative: the Cappella della Sindone (Chapel of the Shroud), the Galleria Sabauda, the Museo di Antichità and the Armeria Reale are open from 9am to 7pm, with the ticket office closing at 6pm. The royal residences in the surrounding area are also opening: the Castello di Aglié and the Castello di Racconigi, both of which form part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Residences of the Royal House of Savoy. On the same day, admission to the Gallerie d'Italia in Milan, Turin, Vicenza and Naples is also free of charge. This private institution of the banking group Intesa Sanpaolo is running its own initiative to coincide with Museum Sunday.
Naples and Campania: MANN, Pompeii, Reggia and Paestum
The Museo Archeologico Nazionale of Naples, known as the MANN, is also taking part in Museum Sunday. The museum is open on 6 September from 9am to 7.30pm, so the announcement on the official museum website. The collection includes numerous finds from Pompeii and Herculaneum, among them wall paintings, mosaics and statues from the sites buried by Vesuvius. It should be noted that the world-famous Alexander Mosaic is currently not on display due to extensive restoration work.
In the region of Campania , the archaeological site of Pompeii, the Palazzo Reale and the Museo di Capodimonte in Naples, the Reggia di Caserta with its royal park, and the excavations of Paestum and Velia in the province of Salerno are also taking part on 6 September. Regular admission charges are waived at all the venues listed, though certain guided tours, audio guides and special exhibitions may still be subject to a fee. Particularly large crowds are to be expected at Pompeii.
Not included: the Vatican
The Musei Vaticani are not part of the Domenica al Museo. The Vatican is a sovereign state and does not fall under the Italian Ministry of Culture. On ordinary Sundays, the Vatican Museums are also closed, as they will be on 6 September 2026. The next free admission day at the Vatican is 27 September 2026, with reduced opening hours from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and last entry at 12.30 p.m. Reservations are not possible on that day; access is exclusively on a first-come, first-served basis on site.
Practical information: booking and app
Over a thousand venues across Italy take part in Museum Sunday. The complete and regularly updated list can be found on the official overview of the Italian Ministry of Culture for the Domenica al Museo. In addition, the Ministry offers the free app Musei Italiani .
Important: even when admission is free, a reservation may be required at popular venues, in some cases exclusively online. Once the available allocation of free tickets is exhausted, entry may be brought to a close. Arriving early is therefore the Ministry's key recommendation.
