This Saturday evening is 14th edition of European Night at the Museum across Italy and Europe!
If you’re in Florence this Saturday evening, take advantage of the special 1 euro entrance fee to Florence’s most popular museums. This includes the Uffizi Gallery, the Accademia Gallery, the Bargello and Medici Chapels, among others, which will have special longer hours to participate in the Europe-wide event “European Night at the Museum”.
About 3,000 museums across the European Union contemporaneously participate in the event, opening up their doors in 30 countries to promote a European cultural heritage across the EU’s member states.
Here’s some more details on Florence’s top museums and their longer evening hours:
Uffizi Gallery – Open from 7pm to 10pm. Ticket office opens at 7pm, with last entrance allowed at 9pm. Closing procedures start at 9.35pm
Accademia Gallery – Open from 7 to 10pm, no closing of the museum prior to the evening hours.
Bargello – Open until 8pm, from 5pm onward the special 1 euro ticket entrance will be applied.
Medici Chapels – Also open until 8pm, with 1 euro entrance fee also being applied from 5pm onward.
Please note that it won’t be possible to pre-book tickets for those longer evening hours at either the Accademia or Uffizi.
Here’s a full list of the evening hours for Italian-state managed museums in Florence (take a look at the list for Tuscany here):
| Ognissanti Last Supper | 20.00 – 23.00 (ticket office closes at 22.40) |
| Medici Chapels | 17.00 – 20.00 (ticket office closes at 19.30. Closing procedures start at 19.50) |
| Bargello | 17.00 – 20.00 (ticket office closes at 19.30. Closing procedures start at 19.50) |
| Galleria degli Uffizi, Gallery of Statues and Paintings | 19.00 – 22.00 (ticket office closes at 21.00) |
| Last Supper by Andrea del Sarto at San Salvi | 20.00 – 23.00 (ticket office closes at 22.30) |
| San Marco Museum | 19.00 – 22.00 (ticket office closes at 21.30) |
| Accademia Gallery | 19.00 – 22.00 (ticket office closes at 21.30) |
| National Archaeological Museum | 20.00 – 23.00 (ticket office closes at 22.15) |
| Garden of Villa il Castello | 19.00 – 22.00 (ticket office closes at 21.00) |
| Medici Villa of La Petraia | 19.00 – 22.00 (ticket office closes at 21.00) |
| Museum Opificio delle Pietre dure | 20.00 – 23.00 |
La Festa dei Musei
In Italy, this weekend is also the Festa dei Musei, a nation-wide event by Italy’s MiBACT, or Ministry of Cultural Affairs and Tourism to promote its rich cultural heritage. It is literary a “party” for museums, or a museum festival. In addition to the longer evening hours on Saturday, some museums have communicated extra events for the weekend. For example, on Saturday:
Orsanmichele – at 10.30am, there is a special guided visit for kids and families. Entrace is free, but bookings are requested by phone 055-2388610 or email mn-bar.comunicazione@beniculturali.it
Museum of Palazzo Martelli – at 11.30am, a piano concert with Giulia Contaldo playing ieces by Schumann, Debussy e Granados. Free entrance, no bookings are required but space is limited. The concert will be held in the dance hall, I’ve yet to go see this relatively recently open museum, if you go, let me know how it is!
Palazzo Davanzati – more music, with the “Violoncello ‘700” concert at 5pm by the Florence Cello Ensemble. Concert will include music by J.S. Bach, A. Vivaldi, L. Boccherini, F.J. Haydn e N. Paganini. Entrance ticket is €6, no bookings required.
Enjoy a “cultural” weekend!
