On the first Sunday of the month, State Museums in Florence are free for everyone, and that means this Sunday, June 5, 2022 you can visit lots of museums for FREE! In addition, other museums open their doors at no cost to residents of the Florentine metropolitan city. We have the “Sunday at the Museum” initiative of the Ministry of Culture plus the “Metropolitan Sunday” by the City of Florence that also offers guided tours for adults and workshops dedicated to families and children which adds up to lots of choices this Sunday.
STATE MUSEUMS
After a long stop due to the Covid pandemic, the Ministry of Culture has reactivated the initiative of Sundays at the museum: in Florence, every first Sunday of the month, state museums are open for free for all and the next date is this coming up Sunday, June 5, 2022. So on the last day of this “Day of the Republic” long weekend holiday, 7 state museums in Florence will be open for free with the following hours:
- the Uffizi Gallery from 8.15 to 18.30
- the museums of Palazzo Pitti are open from 8.15 to 18.30
- Boboli Gardens from 8.15am to 7.00pm
- Galleria dell’Accademia from 9.00 am to 6.45 pm
- Bargello Museum (including the Donatello exhibition) from 8.45 to 19.00
- National Archaeological Museum of Florence from 8.30 to 14.00
- Orsanmichele Museum – with a special opening – on Sunday with visits at 8.45, 10.00, 11.15 and 12.30
To these, you can add the State managed museums/sites which are already normally free to visit.
These include the garden of the Medici Villa of Castello (8.00 – 18.30) and the Last Supper by Andrea del Sarto in San Salvi (8.15 – 13.50).
In the surroundings of Florence, you can also visit the Medici Villa of Cerreto Guidi and its Historical Museum of Hunting and the Territory (entrance at 9, 10, 11, 12, 15 and 16) and the Medici Park of Pratolino (10-20 hours).
The complete list of the places that participate in Italy on Sunday at the museum on the website of the Ministry of Culture (for Tuscany but you can also check the rest of Italy).
METROPOLITANA SUNDAY
Since the beginning of 2022, the Municipality of Florence decided to reactivate the “Metropolitan Sunday” initiative which allows residents of the Florentine metropolitan city to enter the city’s civic museums for free every first Sunday of the month. In addition, thanks to the collaboration with the sponsors GIOTTO, a love brand of F.I.L.A. Fabbrica Italiana Lapis e Affini and Lucart, the city also offers free guided tours and activities for families on these days, but reservations required to participate.
These are the museums that are free on the first Sunday of June – just show up at the ticket office and show an identity document that proves residence in Florence or in the municipalities of the metropolitan city:
- Palazzo Vecchio opening hours 9.00-19.00
- Torre di Arnolfo opening hours 9.00-17.00 (in case of rain only the patrol walkway can be visited)
- Complex of Santa Maria Novella opening hours 13.00-17.30 (entrance from Piazza Stazione 4)
- Museo Novecento opening hours 11.00-20.00
- Palazzo Medici Riccardi opening hours 9.00-19.00 (including the exhibition on Oscar Ghiglia)
- Salvatore Romano Foundation – opening hours 11.00-17.00
- Gino Bartali Cycling Museum (Ponte a Ema) 10.00-16.00 hours
- Brancacci Chapel 13.00-17.00 hours (reservations required)
In addition to visiting the museums for free, six civic museums offer free activities for residents with guided tours in Palazzo Vecchio, Palazzo Medici Riccardi (including a special tour on the occasion of the birth of Eleonora de Toledo), in the complex of Santa Maria Novella, the Museo Novecento, the Brancacci Chapel and the MAD Murate Art District which hosts the “Trying to grow wings” exhibition by Ana Vuijovic. At Palazzo Vecchio and Palazzo Medici Riccardi special initiatives for families are also being organized.
These extra activities require booking. You can call 055-2768224 or email info@musefirenze.it. For admission to just the museums, no reservations are required.
Detailed program on the MUS.E association website, in a section completed dedicated to Metropolitan Sundays.
OPERA DEL DUOMO
The Baptistery, Santa Reparata and the Opera del Duomo Museum are also free on the first Sunday of the month for residents. Since April 2022, the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore launched a special ticket for residents of the metropolitan area of Florence called the “Giglio Pass” which allows you to visit 3 monuments every month. The ticket allows free access to the Baptistery of San Giovanni, to the remains of the ancient basilica of Santa Reparata under the floor of the Cathedral and in the Opera del Duomo Museum.
This ticket must be first collected at the ticket offices of the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore (Piazza Duomo 14 and Piazza San Giovanni 7) by presenting an identity document: it is only valid for one day, i.e. the first Sunday of the month. These are the opening times of the three museums/monuments of the Florence Cathedral included in the Giglio pass on Sunday June 5, 2022: Baptistery and Duomo Museum 9.00 – 19.45, church of Santa Reparata 13.30 – 16.45.
THE FIORENTINO CARD
If you live in Florence or in the Metropolitan area, you should know there are other ways and places you can visit practically for free or free all year round, not just on the first Sundays of the month.
First, if you’re a resident of the Municipality and of the Metropolitan City of Florence you can request the “Card of the Florentine”. It is an annual pass at the cost of 10 euros, valid for 1 year from the moment you pick it up and allows free access to the CIVIC MUSEUMS and 3 free guided tours for that entire year (the tours do need to be booked). This is an excellent way to enjoy local museums without crowding on those first Sundays of the month since you can go at any time of the year, for just a minimal cost.
In addition, these places are ALWAYS FREE for residents of the Municipality of Florence:
- Santa Maria Novella
- Santa Croce
- the Boboli Gardens (but only from the entrance to the Annalena Gate)
- the garden of Villa Bardini (residents of the metropolitan city, only the park, not the interior of the villa).
Also remember the State museums above that are ALWAYS FREE, regardless of whether you are a resident or not, year-round.
Now that you know all the places you can go to view and experience art firsthand for FREE, where are you headed to this Sunday?
