Exciting news! Most of Italy’s regions “reopened” just 3 days ago, easing the restrictive measures that have characterized the past winter and spring months. Signs of falling infection numbers and the vaccine effort accelerating (over a quarter of all Italians have received their first dose, and nearly 5 million are now fully vaccinated) have led to most of the country, including Tuscany, to be in the medium-low-infection “yellow” zone from this past April 26th.
Many businesses not considered essential have been closed for months – theaters and cinemas, for example, have been closed since October – have finally received the green light to reopen. The big one for us is that museums are reopening!
This doesn’t mean we can do whatever we want: Tuscany’s hospitals are still under pressure and new cases average about 800 daily. But overall it’s good news, as we look ahead at what the rest of spring and summer will bring.
So if you want to know more about the reopening and lots of details, I invite you to search and read elsewhere. Today, I just want to focus on highlighting how we can move around (and get here) and what is opening, particularly museums reopening this and next week.
Moving about
Since restrictions can very easily be added back on, this is just a preview into what is being allowed at the moment…. in a few weeks time, we will have to see if all still applies.
For now, Tuscany is once again in the yellow-zone which means we can once again move freely between the various towns in the region. Yes, while we were assigned orange and red zone categories we could not leave our town! Now, we can even leave the region to go to another yellow zone without needing to justify why we are traveling.
If, however, you are coming or going between orange or red zones, you need the new “green pass”. This is based on the European green pass as a model, which is a certification (now in paper form, but hopefully it will be digital eventually) that says you meet one of 3 conditions that allow you travel safely between and to orange and red zones. These are:
- A vaccination green pass: it attests you have completed the entire covid vaccine cycle and is given out by the health center that completed the vaccination cycle. This will be valid for 6 months.
- A certificate that attests you’re “cured” after you contracted coronavirus (within the last 6 months). This is to be given out by the hospital where you were cared for, your doctor or pediatrician. This should also be valid for 6 months.
- A green card for having completed either a molecular test or a quick covid test with a negative result in the 48 hours preceding travel between regions. This will not be valid beyond your first travel date, you’ll need to redo the test once you plan to travel again.
The vaccination green pass is a new document that was just created this week and Italy will recognize similar documents issued in other European Union countries.
So, depending on where you are from, you can either travel to Tuscany quite easily (if you’re in Italy in another yellow zone) or with a few more requirements (most EU residents can enter Italy with a molecular covid test done 48 hours before travel, but most people are still required to self-isolate for 5 days and then do another test before being allowed to move around freely. Check out https://infocovid.viaggiaresicuri.it/index_en.html where you can enter your country, any places you’ve been in or require transit through to reach Italy and at the end you’ll be given a list of how you can travel to Italy.
Ok now let’s get to the exciting news of what is reopening and when!
Florence
Opera del Duomo
The Cathedral and Brunelleschi’s cupola reopened to the public this past Monday! Check hours and buy ticket online on their website: www.duomo.firenze.it. The belltower and museum should both reopen by May 16th, but no precise dates have been given yet so just check the site above for more info.
The Uffizi Galleries
The Boboli garden was the first to open this past Tuesday while the Pitti Palace (Palatine Gallery, Modern Art and Granduchy Treasury) and Uffizi Gallery will open next Tuesday, May 4th. Their normal hours should be in place, but you can find more details on www.uffizi.it. Make note that advance booking is not required during the week but is required on Saturdays and Sundays for all of the museums.
The Accademia Gallery
The Accademia museum has announced that it will finally reopen to the public on May 6th. The Accademia was visibly absent from the list of the museums that had reopened back in mid-Janaury because it has been undertaking major renovations and moving around its collections. The work is not yet complete – several halls are still closed off and the entire top floor is closed, but this is your chance to see the almost “new” museum for the first time since it closed in early November. Check hours here.
Bargello, Davanzati and Medici Chapels
These 3 museums will reopen on May 3rd, you can check hours here.
Other museums in Florence
The Galileo science museum will reopen on May 4th with free guided visits for the entire month of May. You do need to book your visit, however, by calling ahead +39 055 265311 (M-F 9am-5pm).
Museo del Novecento, Palazzo Vecchio and the Brancacci Chapel all reopened on April 28th, while the Bardini and Bartali museums reopen today, April 30th. The museum complex at Santa Maria Novella will not yet reopen. Check out opening times here. https://cultura.comune.fi.it/index.php/musei
The Santa Croce museum complex will reopen on May 12th. Check https://www.santacroceopera.it/ for details on hours.
The Museum of San Marco reopens on May 3rd, as well as the Archeological museum. Let’s say that the list will grow but for now, the majority of the museums have to be checked one by one to see if they have already communicated a date for reopening. If you’re not finding info online for a specific museum, feel free to comment below and I will help you check.
More gardens…
The Iris Garden under Piazzale Michelagelo is set to open from May 2 through the 20th, with a one way path through the gardens to admire the hundreds of varieties of irises planted here. Even if outdoors, you’ll need to wear your mask during the visit.
Villa Bardini reopened on April 27th so it is your chance to go see the spectacular flowering wisteria pergola before it is too late! Entrance is free to local residents, as is the visit to the Boboli Gardens.
End of April and May is the best time to view the roses in bloom at the Rose Garden, also below Piazzale Michelangelo on the opposite side of the square. It is open and entrance is free.
You can read our post on our Discover Tuscany blog to also see what has opened in other towns across Tuscany, like Siena and Pisa.
