Rome offsets free museum entry for residents by charging tourists to visit Trevi Fountain.
Rome has made its municipal museums free to residents of the capital all year round in a landmark shift designed to reconnect Romans with their rich cultural heritage.
The initiative coincides with the introduction of a new €2 entry fee for tourists to visit the Trevi Fountain, which remains free to residents of Rome.
Under the new system, any resident of Rome or its metropolitan area can enter the Musei in Comune (municipal museum network) free of charge.
How does it work?
Residents simply need to present a valid ID certifying their residency at the museum ticket office.
The free admission covers the permanent collections of major sites however separate fees may still apply for certain temporary exhibitions, shows and specialised virtual reality experiences such as the Circo Maximo Experience.
The city is promoting the move with a campaign titled “In Rome, Beauty Belongs to Everyone,” urging residents to “experience the city’s museum heritage as an integral part of daily life”.
“Entering a museum becomes as simple as taking a walk in a park: a normal, everyday gesture that makes us feel better and helps us feel part of the city”, mayor Roberto Gualtieri said.
Rome’s culture councillor Massimiliano Smergilio described the move as “a measure of social justice”, adding: “Rome is a city inhabited by people who have the right to free access to the great beauty that the city holds.”
Which museums are now free to Rome residents?
Among the list of municipal museums that are now free to Roman residents are the Capitoline Museums, Trajan’s Market, the Ara Pacis Museum, Centrale Montemartini and the Villa Torlonia Museums as well as the archaeological areas at Largo Argentina and the Circus Maximus.
The othe museums are: Palazzo Braschi, Museo di Roma in Trastevere, Galleria d’Arte Moderna (municipal gallery on Via Crispi), the Villa Torlonia museum complex, Zoology Museum, Forma Urbis Museum, Museo di Scultura Antica Giovanni Barracco, Museo delle Mura, Museo Carlo Bilotti, Pietro Canonica Museum, Napoleonic Museum, Villa di Massenzio, Museo della Repubblica Romana e della Memoria Garibaldina, Museo di Casal de’ Pazzi and Casa Museo Alberto Moravia (by appointment).
Full information on the initiative is available at Musei in Comune website.
Photo credit: YASEMIN OZDEMIR / Shutterstock.com.
