The experiment

Italy's culture and tourism ministries, together with Milan's city council, will launch a month-long trial of extended daily opening hours at three landmark monuments starting Saturday 1 August. The Colosseum, the Pantheon and the Castello Sforzesco will each stay open up to four hours beyond their usual schedules throughout August. The initiative applies to state monuments in Rome and civic monuments in Milan, and aims to improve visitor flows while offering access during cooler, more convenient hours.

Extended opening times

At Rome's Colosseum, the extra slot will be available on Fridays and Saturdays from 7:45 p.m. until 11:30 p.m. The Pantheon will open from 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. every day except Thursday, with the standard ticket priced at 7 euro and last entry at 10:30 p.m. In Milan, the Castello Sforzesco will add a daily extension from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The experiment covers the entire month of August.

What the ministers said

Minister of Culture Alessandro Giuli described the evening openings as a chance to experience two universal testimonies of human history and ingenuity in a particularly evocative setting.

“The extraordinary evening openings of the Colosseum and the Pantheon are an opportunity to approach, in a particularly evocative setting, two universal testimonies of human history and ingenuity. Making these places even more accessible promotes knowledge and strengthens awareness of the value they embody. The collaboration between the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Tourism expresses the capacity of institutions to work together, putting skills and resources at the service of citizens.”

Tourism Minister Gianmarco Mazzi stressed that the trial, shaped by discussions with tour guides and sector operators, meets the needs of both travellers and residents. He also highlighted the growing weight of cultural tourism in Italy's economy.

“This trial, the result of discussions with tour guides and sector operators, meets the needs of travellers and citizens. In particular it strengthens the link between the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Culture, which since 2026, as ISNART tells us, has become the top motivation for travel among tourists, leaping from seventh to first place in only ten years. That is why we are devoting maximum attention to cultural tourism, to deepen the growth potential of a sector that already contributes 58 billion euro to the national economy.”

Milan's involvement

Milan joins the trial with its most visited civic monument, the Castello Sforzesco, which recorded half a million entries in the past year. Culture assessor Tommaso Sacchi confirmed the extension and underlined the city's commitment to supporting national cultural tourism initiatives.

Cultural tourism's rising weight

ISNART, the national institute for tourism research, reports that culture became the top travel motivation for visitors to Italy in 2026, rising from seventh place just a decade earlier. The cultural sector now drives 58 billion euro in spending, and officials see the evening opening pilot as a way to further unlock its potential, especially by spreading visitor flows across longer parts of the day and into the cooler evening hours.