Marci Russo

I understand that many sights are closed during riposo, just after lunch until about 4pm. We'll be traveling by car to Florence/Tuscany from Venice, and don't want to lose any valuable sight seeing time. I was thinking that we'd go to Pisa and then over to our hotel in Florence that first day - but am worried about the Tower and Duomo being closed when we get there for the riposo. On subsequent days we'll take day trips to Siena and the Chianti Region. Anybody have experience with managing your itinerary around riposo.

Alice Twain

The lunch break is in most cases from 1 pm to 3 pm, often enough even shorther than this, and it applies basically to shops and to minor museums. Since the Duomo in Pisa is neither a shop nor a museum but a working church it will be open throughout the day. Visiting it at noon (1-2 pm) should turn out a good idea since there will be less visitors. Also, in tourist areas and in the large cities most shops and museums have no lunch break, so that hte lunch break is an issue only when you are off the tourist areas in smaller cities, towns and villages.

elaine

I have found that many working churches close to visitors for riposo, both in Venice and Rome, can't recall any in Florence but I didn't visit as many working churches there.<BR>The closing hours varied, but generally covered all or part of the span between 12:30 and 3:30. A couple of them even stayed closed until 4.<BR>The exact hours depended on the church.<BR>The exact hours also often varied from what I had read in guidebooks or other planning sources.<BR>

Eye Spy

Many churches do close around riposo, usually from about noon or so to around 4. In Rome, the only exceptions are the 3 of the 4 Papal Basilicas (which means once inside the church itself you are not in Italy but the Vatican): St. Peter's Basilica / San Giovanni in Laterano (the Pope's Cathedral -- oldest church in Christendom and mother of all Catholic churches) / San Paolo fuori le Mura / Santa Maria Maggiore. HOWEVER, I have never been to Rome during riposo when Santa Maria Maggiore was open (about 12:00-3:30pm). Therefore, only San Pietro/San Giovanni in Laterano/San Paolo fuori le Mura remain open from 7am-7pm (non stop).<BR><BR>That being said, if you are in Florence and Venice:<BR><BR>Venice: Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari ('Frari) and Santi Giovanni e Paolo (San Zanipolo) remain open non-stop. I believe San Marco as well. You can always visit these churches and stroll or go to the Accademia at that time. Hardly possible to waste time in Venice during riposo.<BR><BR>Florence: go to Pisa in the morning (get up early). After you visit the Campo dei Miracoli and further by the Arno Santa Maria della Spina, Pisa is not that interesting since so much of it was bombed during WWII.<BR><BR>For opening times, cost and closed days of all museums and Churches of Florence and his<BR>http://www.comune.firenze.it/servizi...b/inglsito.htm (click on hotlink at the bottom of the page). Have a great trip.

Alice Twain

Rome is a completely different case, Rome is the place in the world with the highiest rate of churches per person. The priests in Rome are not enought to keep them all working, so that may churches are kept open during the day by personnell hired by either the Vatican or the Government's department of arts. This is particularly true in the center of Rome, while in the outskirts most churches are still sworking as regular churches with priests and all. These churches do not close, since they're not to there be visited by tourists but rather they are places of worship by everyone who is interested in it and must be available to belivers at every hour of the day.

xxx

I have been to Rome many times and many of the churches are closed at midday. There are exceptions but I have had to wait until they reopened to gain access. Even the mass times were not scheduled until late afternoon in many churches after they had been closed around lunchtime. Certainly not true for all, but definitely for the majority.

elaine

In Venice just some of the churches that I recall close for riposo are the Salute, the Miracoli, and the San Giorgio Maggiore. I know there are others.