Seeing Italy’s Art for Free?

As if getting to Italy from North America wasn’t expensive enough, then you’ve got to actually pay for all the things you’ve been dying to see. You’ll do it, because to get all the way to Rome and not see the Sistine Chapel would be something akin to criminal, but it’d be nice if you didn’t feel completely ripped off by the country, right?

Italofile has a couple of ways of getting more for the money you’ve already spent to get to Italy, and they’re both good. One is going to be a good supplement to the ticket prices you’re already paying to see Italy’s top museums, and the other is a downright steal if you happen to be visiting at the right time of year.

• If you know where to look, you can see plenty of works by the great masters for free – they’re just in lesser churches and museums rather than in the biggies we’ve all heard of. Italofile mentions an article about Rome specifically, which talks about the Michelangelos and Caravaggios you can see without paying a dime. This won’t get you in to see the Sistine Chapel, however, so consider this a bonus round.
• If you’re in Italy during Cultural Week, or Settimana della Cultura, you can get into Italy’s state-owned museums for free. That’s right, folks, free. This year, La Settimana della Cultura runs from May 12-20, and the state-owned museums include the Capitoline Museums and Galleria Borghese in Rome. There’s a guide to what else is going on that week linked from Italofile’s post.