Vatican Museums to reopen on
1 June after Covid-19 lockdown
The Holy See Press Office announces on Saturday that the
Vatican Museums and the Pontifical Villas of Castel Gandolfo will reopen their
doors to the public on 1 June.
By Vatican News
The Vatican Museums reopening coincides with Italy’s gradual
easing of the nearly 3-month lockdown, which allows many businesses and
activities to restart.
The reopening of the Pontifical Villas of Castel Gandolfo
and a new open-bus tour have also been announced.
Health and art
Due to the current health emergency situation, the Vatican
Museums are ensuring a very careful balance between safety and health needs and
the dynamics of a museum visit, without compromising the essence of such a
visit.
Hence, in keeping with the norms of hygiene and
physical distance, visitors to the Museums will be subject to a body
temperature check and will be allowed in only with a facemask.
A medical and health team from Italy’s Misericordie
volunteer group and the Vatican’s Health and Hygiene Department will ensure
every need during the opening hours.
Other important requirements for the reopening of the
museums will be revised from time to time as the current emergency situation
evolves.
Online booking
In order to restrict the number of entries, the Vatican
Museums have limited ticket sales to only online booking from
the official website www.museivaticani.va.
For this emergency period, the online booking fee of Euro 4 will not
apply.
There are also variations to the opening hours:
- Monday to Thursday:
the Pontifical Collections will remain open from 10.00 a.m. to 8.00 p.m., with
the last entry at 6.00 p.m. (exit from the museum sectors starts at 7.30 p.m.)
- Friday and Saturday:
from 10.00 a.m. to 10.00 p.m., with the last entry at 8.00 p.m. (exit from the
museum sectors at 9.30 p.m.). Museums visits on Friday and Saturday are
accompanied by the possibility to take part in an aperitif in the Pine Cone Courtyard
to enjoy the sunset.
The usual free entry to the museums on the last Sunday of
the month has been suspended.
New bus tour
Apart from the visit to the Vatican Museums, there is
a new open-bus ecological and panoramic tour of the Vatican Gardens.
It provides an exclusive and direct access to the green heart of the Vatican
City State.
Bookings for this tour are only possible online from the
website www.museivaticani.va,
which provides all the details of the trip.
Pontifical Villas
Along with the Vatican Museums, the Pontifical
Villas of Castel Gandolfo are also reopening to the public.
The visits to the summer residence of the Holy Father and
its gardens have been limited to Saturdays and Sundays only, from 10.00 a.m. to
6.00 p.m., with the last entry at 5.00 p.m.
The first available visit for the Pontifical Villas is
scheduled for Saturday, 6 June 2020.
Here too all visitors will be subject to temperature checks,
and a facemask is obligatory.
The Train of the Pontifical Villas, which took
visitors from the Vatican railway station to Castel Gandolfo, has also been
temporarily suspended.
On March 1, the Holy See Press Office announced the
precautionary closure of the Vatican Museums and other Vatican tours and visits
in coordination with the measures of the Italian authorities to prevent the
spread of COVID-19.
Meanwhile the first of the Vatican’s 10 Covid-19 cases was
announced on March 6.
On March 9, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte imposed
a nationwide lockdown, restricting the movement of people except for necessity,
work, and health need. The Vatican has been complying with Italian norms.
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