Florence Museums & Parks Reopening June 2
June 2 is the date in 1947 that Italians, including women for the first time, voted in favor of a republic instead of a monarchy as a form of government, and the day is a national holiday known as la Festa della Repubblica. In 2020 it is also when many museums and gardens in Florence once again become accessible after nearly three months of Coronavirus lockdown. All are obliging visitors, who must wear face masks, to adhere to social distancing regulations and are thus admitting small numbers of people at a time.
The Church of Santa Croce is reopening with free admission on June 2; reservations required. The Franciscan basilica, also the final resting place of Michelangelo, Galileo, Lorenzo Ghiberti and Machiavelli, will provide an encore, with free entrance on Saturday and Sunday until June 21, always with a reservation. Hours are 11 am to 5 pm on Saturday, 1 to 5 pm on Sunday, with another special opening planned for June 24.
While state museums are slowing gearing up to welcome visitors, some of the city-run museums will be offering one-time special openings on June 2, thanks to funding from the Italian government. These include Palazzo Vecchio, the Loggia dei Lanzi, the Bardini Museum and the Novecento Museum of 20th and 21st Century Art, all of which can be visited from 2 to 7 pm; reservations are necessary, while the Firenze card can once more be utilized. At Palazzo Vecchio, the entire complex can be visited except for the battlements, the tower (known as the Torre di Arnolfo) and the archeological excavations.
Villa Bardini and its garden can once again be toured starting June 2; at sunset the facade of the villa will be illuminated with the red, white and green colors of the Italian flag (hours through August 30: 8:45 am – 9 pm from the Costa San Giorgio entrance, 8:45 am – 7:30 pm from the via de’Bardi 1/rosso entrance. There is free admission for all residents of the Florence metropolitan area, people from in the provinces of Arezzo and Grosseto and those under 18; otherwise a ticket costs €10, which includes admission into the Boboli Gardens or €2 for visitors between 18 and 25 who come from a member country of the European Union. Closed the last and first Monday of the month). Free snacks will be offered to children on Saturday and Sunday throughout the summer.
The villa was constructed in 1641 and the last owner antiques dealer Stefano Bardini who bought the building in 1913, from which the gardens and villa now take their name. The gardens, expanding four hectares (nearly 10 acres) in size, are rich with orchards, rose beds, iris flowers, hydrangeas and run alongside part of Florence’s medieval wall. Encompassed are English-style woods, baroque staircases and rural gardens decorated with approximately 200 statues, stone pots and vases. Fountains can also be found, now restored to their original appearance.
On the same day, the public can finally go into Medici Chapels and the Palazzo Davanzati Renaissance Home Museum from 9 am to 6 pm. A schedule for both landmarks will be announced for the coming weeks, with part-time accessibility rotated between morning and afternoon. June 24, a local holiday (la Festa di San Giovanni), will offer the same availability as June 2.
The Uffizi Gallery will reopen the day after the Republic Day holiday, on June 3. The Pitti Palace complex, hosting five state-run museums, returned to public view after the lockdown on May 28.
Overseen by the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore, the Florence Duomo complex reopened on Friday, May 22. Florence Cathedral, the Duomo Museum, the Bell Tower (Campanile) and the Baptistery will be accessible on Friday, Saturday and Sunday only in addition to la Festa di San Giovanni (a local holiday on June 24) with an online reservation.
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