This just in! Some of our readers may remember that the former Minister of Culture, Mr. Dario Franceschini, had suggested the introduction of an entry ticket of €2 for entering the Pantheon. Said measure would have been addressed at tourists only, and wouldn’t have impacted actual faithful meaning to pray inside the former Roman temple.

The proposal was a divisive one from the get-go, and was never implemented by the new government, in spite of the announcement that the measure would have begun starting in May, 2018. Now the news most of you were waiting for: the Pantheon will continue to offer a free access to everyone. Mr. Franceschini’s successor, Mr. Alberto Bonisoli, is said to be evaluating the possibilty of introducing night tours or digital, technology-heavy guides at an extra charge for those interested.

Now, this isn’t quite the end of it. The reason why the idea was dropped is because Interior Minister, Mr. Matteo Salvini, is himself considering the introduction of a fee for visiting all those churches belonging to an agency called FEC (“Fund for Buildings of Worship”). While the large majority of churches here actually belong to the Vatican, and therefore to another sovereign state, roughly 820 buildings are Italian through-and-through, so Mr. Salvini is thinking about these, specifically.

Are all churches free in Italy?

For those of you who may be unaware, many cities of Italy already charge a small entry fee for accessing their churches, on account of the amount of masterpieces inside of those attracting huge numbers of visitors. The collected money is used for maintenance or printing information leaflets or art/history books. Rome is famous, on the other hand, for offering free entrance to all of its churches, with a few exceptions related to the certain areas of the churches themselves. Case in point: the “Scavi tour” at the Vatican, the underground level at Basilica di San Clemente, the Mouth of Truth at Santa Maria in Cosmedin… To see these you will need a ticket.

What changes now?

Until the proposed measure by Mr. Salvini is enforced, you can go on and enjoy your time in Rome by visiting the churches here to your heart’s desire!

Actually, we encourage you to do so even if your schedule is already pretty full: even if you’re not religious or if you belong to another denomination, you need to know that churches were the “museums of yesteryear”, and are home to some of the most important works of art in the Western world, from Caravaggios to Berninis, from Michelangelo’s to Raphael’s… But we will discuss this in detail in another post.

In the meantime, know that if you’re staying in one of our managed apartments like Campo Marzio Bellavista, Casa Cornacchie, Via degli Spagnoli or Piazza delle Coppelle you’re really just around the corner from the Pantheon. So go ahead and visit it right now… without having to worry about an extra charge!