Every year the city of Rome organizes the so-called “Culture Week” or Settimana della Cultura, which this year, 2012, is held for the 14th time.
During this culture week, all the city and state-run museums of Rome offer free entrance, museums and galleries that are normally closed open their doors to the general public and many special events , exhibitions and concerts are organized throughout the city.
Usually the free museum week in Rome takes place right after the Easter weekend, and this year is no exception: Easter Sunday falls on April 8th and “Culture Week” starts the weekend after, on April 14th. The event will last until April 22nd.
Note that for the Borghese Gallery you will still need to make a (mandatory) reservation, at least one day before the visiting date. You can do this by phoning +39 0632810.
Unfortunately this year there are some differences compared to previous culture weeks:
- The MAXXI Museum of Modern Art only participates on three days (April 17, 18 and 19) and during those three days admission is only discounted, not free.
- The Colosseum does not participate this year either.
I stayed in Rome a couple of years ago during culture week. One thing which impressed me was the lack of queues at the Colosseum. There us usually a very long queue, but during culture week it seems to disappear. Do not be conned by the fake gladiators offering fast entry and a guided tour at inflated prices. Even if you wait in the main queue it is still faster entry that waiting for your Gladiator to assemble a large enough group to start his tour.