Hi, does anyone know for sure? Most guidebooks say that it closes at 1 pm.

This link claims it's open until 4 pm for certain parts of the year:

http://www.lincei.it/informazioni/vi...sina/index.php

I tried searching here and nothing really turned up.

I plan to see it on April 14.

Thanks!

P.S. I know there's a Villa Farnese which houses the French Embassy and it's closed to the public.

The web page you posted is for the Accademia dei Lincei, which runs the place, so I'd trust them rather than the simplified version in the guidebooks.

It spells out when the extended opening hours apply, which does include the time you'll be there (March 15-30 June) as well as other periods, but only on Mondays and Saturdays. Not only is April 14 a Friday (so no extended hours), it's Good Friday, so I wouldn't be surprised if even their stated normal hours don't apply, even though it's not officially a holiday.

The Palazzo Farnese, which houses the French Embassy, currently does 6 small-group tours a week, on Monday and Thursday afternoons. Three are in French and three are in Italian. You have to reserve in advance. Information is in Italian (or French) at
http://www.france-italia.it/index.ph...amp;citta=Roma

Thanks, KT.

I'll only be Rome on that day, so I'll have to skip Villa Farnese.

I e-mailed lincei.it to ask about Farnesina and will report back if I hear from them. If they don't respond I'll try to call them.

Since my flight doesn't get in until 11:20 am and I think this is the only place I'm interested in seeing with an early close, I'm doing the research now.

The link you provided looks reliable enough in principle, but bear in mind that April 14 is Good Friday. It is not an official holiday in Italy, but Italians have a well-deserved reputation for taking many "unofficial" holidays.

Easter Monday, April 17, on the other hand, IS an official holiday. You can expect even those things that are normally open on Mondays to be closed on April 17, such as the Vatican Museums.

The French Embassy now offers tours of the Palazzo Farnese on Mondays and Thursdays. One has to reserve well in advance at

[email protected]

But since Easter Monday is also an official holiday in France, I daresay there will be no tour on April 17.

All in all, Easter weekend is not the best time to visit Rome, particularly for someone like yourself who schedules down to the last half hour. And I mean that kindly.

I know. But I bought my tickets already. Easter Sunday I should be in Amsterdam (for less than 12 hours).

I guess if I can't see Villa Farnesina on this trip I'll see it another time then.

The Vatican Museums are supposed to be open that day (according to the webpage).

Actually I'm flying in to see the show on Antonello:

http://www.scuderiequirinale.it/canale.asp?id=608

This supposedly is open late (until 10 or so, I think). Should I believe them? I guess it's too late to change my ticket anyway. I should call them and find out.

I misread your message, KT. So "e sabato" means "and"? I thought it meant from Monday to Saturday. So it's not normally scheduled to open anyway in a Friday afternoon, you're saying.

While we're at it, should I really e-mail/phone all the places I intend to visit? I did check the Vatican webpage and the one for the Borghese Gallery, which I assume was good enough.

I see the same thing that you do for the Vatican Museums. It is open on April 14 until 4:45; last admission at 3:20. (Count on them starting to chase you out by 4:30 or even 4:15...).

The Scuderie are probably the best-run outfit in Rome. If they say they are open on Friday until 10:30, they are; last admission at 9:30. There is nothing to say they're closed on April 14, so I'd assume they are open.

Excellent. I'm really excited about Antonello.

I see no problem with the Galleria Borghese either, but I strongly urge you to click on the red and reserve your ticket well in advance.

Rome is overrun at Easter, and everyone will be trying to see the same things that happen to be open.

I had no idea of the Antonello show at the Scuderie; I was planning to drop in on the Annunziata at Palazzo Abatellis in Palermo as I did in the fall...

But I'll be in Rome during the show, to which I will definitely go. I know and dearly love the Annunziata; I look forward to seeing the portraits.

Yes, 111op, "e sabato" means and Saturday. Monday through Saturday would be "da lunedi a sabato."

BTW, I plan to see the Antonello exhibition on April 24.

The Met now has a very small show devoted to Antonello, which I went to. It was interesting. There were probably fewer than 10 works.

http://tinyurl.com/c8lmw

I think that all these will travel to Rome, but it looks like all the main works of Antonello will also be in Rome. The description on the Scuderie website is intriguing -- I'm expecting to see the Antwerp "Crucifixion" and the San Cassiano altarpiece (from Vienna). But maybe that's wishful thinking. I'll check to see if they publish a list of works as it gets closer to the opening date.

I've never really seen these works in person, but I've always been curious about the Antwerp "Crucifixion." It's interesting that in the foreword to the booklet on the exhibition, Phillipe de Montebello (the Met director) says that this is one of his favorite paintings.

I do plan to reserve a spot for the Borghese Gallery once I've mapped out my Rome itinerary.

By the way, any idea as to what happens to the churches on Good Friday in Rome? Are they open (to visitors)?

Thanks.

The last time I was in Rome at Easter was more years ago than I would like to remember...

My best guess - operative word: guess - is that churches will be open to visitors until some time in the afternoon on April 14. Churches in Rome do not, as a rule, close for "siesta" and Good Friday services, as I recall, generally take place in the evening, when churches would be closed in any case.

I don't know which churches you already have on your list, but here is a short list of suggestions: San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane (Borromini), Sant'Andrea al Quirinale (Bernini; within a few hundred yards of each other; both for architecture rather than art); Santa Maria della Vittoria (Bernini's Saint Teresa; same general area as the two above); San Luigi dei Francesi (Caravaggio's three St. Mark paintings; near Piazza Navona); Santa Maria del Popolo (Caravaggio's two St. Paul paintings; Raphael ceiling; at Piazza del Popolo).

I've had a different experience in Rome, in finding many churches closed for 3 hours or so in the afternoon for riposo. Just to name one that I recall specifically, Pietro in Vincoli, but I know there were others. I've made a point of adjusting my sightseeing to see churches early in the morning, or after 3:30 or so in the afternoon.

see also http://roma.katolsk.no/opening.htm

Thanks. I think that I'll have to go to the Vatican first anyway (the flight doesn't get in until 11:20) (and Villa Farnesina, if I can still make it). Hope the churches will be open after I'm done.

Eloise, I do intend to see some of the churches on your list -- I just don't think that I'll have time for everything (obviously!).

Villa Farnesina on 4/14 (straight from the horse's mouth -- e-mail response):

Venerdì 14/4/2006
Aperto dalle 9.00 alle 12.40 (visita fino alle 13.00)