6 Beautiful Italian Museums to Visit for Free Online

Every single museum and cultural site in Italy has been closed since March 8th. Since then, the restrictions on movements within Italy have become much stricter. At the same time, the restrictions on coming into Italy also keep growing, with travel bans, flight cancellations, and airport closures.

In Italy, we are all stuck inside and required to stay home except for when one person per family can leave to do essential shopping for food and medicine. These are truly strange times, and I know that they have (and will continue to) impact people inside and outside of the Bel Paese for the coming weeks and months.

Vacations and dreams have all been put on hold for the time being, but luckily there are some ways to keep experiencing Italy even if you cannot explore in person. There is so much beauty in the world, even if we have to hit pause on seeing it directly in front of us – that is why I put together this list of the best Italian museums you can explore virtually.

From the extensive Vatican collection to Roman ruins, here are the museums in Italy that you can visit online:

Musei Vaticani

The Vatican Museums have some of the most celebrated collections in the world, and it would be impossible to see all of the treasures with a single visit. Luckily, the Vatican has created an in-depth online guide to the collections which includes 360-degree tours and videos of many of the most famous rooms and various wings. You can access those here.

The Uffizi Gallery

La Galleria degli Uffizi is one of the most visited museums in all of Italy. The glorious gallery also has a high-tech online visitor experience which allows you to explore specific rooms or themes, with entertaining and informative captions here. The online exhibits are known as HyperVisions. If you want to get into the nitty-gritty of the catalog, the Uffizi also has a digital archive.

The Capitoline Museums

As incredible as it is to step inside the Colosseum or walk through the Forum, many of the greatest Ancient Rome discoveries are actually tucked away inside the Capitoline Museums. You can follow the floorplans and take a fully virtual tour of the collections here until you are able to visit in person once more.

Pinacoteca di Brera

Housed inside Palazzo Brera in Milan, the Pinacoteca di Brera has an impressive collection of Italian artwork, including pieces by Raphael, Bellini, and Titian, among others. The gallery has created an online catalog of 669 pieces, allowing web-based visitors to examine the details of the art and read about the history behind it in Italian or English. The collection can be filtered by date, artist, material, and more. Visit it here.

Trajan’s Market

Back in Rome, the museum at Trajan’s Market also offers a fully virtual experience to discover the artifacts that have been uncovered around the site.

Ara Pacis

How many compelling museums do you know that are dedicated to a single item? The Ara Pacis is one of those in Rome. The fabulous modern building is home to a single ancient arch. Examine all the intricacies with the Roman museum’s virtual tour here.

Are there any other museums in Italy that you can visit online? Let me know your favorites and I will add them to the list!

15 thoughts on “6 Beautiful Italian Museums to Visit for Free Online

  1. Margaret B says:

    Wow !!! Thank you Natalie !! This is an excellent list of museum and historical site websites !! I wish you and your family continued health and all the best !! Andra Tutto bene !!

  2. Margaret says:

    This is the very best site ever. Sharing it as it’s wonderful to be filled with art – in these dark times. Art brings light. Bless and thank you

  3. Florence John says:

    Love to visit Italy especialy Florence one day …

    Hopefully we can ” visit ” and explore the museum through VR ….

  4. Marie Giannoni says:

    Thank you so much for posting this. It is a solace during these difficult times.
    Any chance you can add the Borghese Gallery in Rome?
    Grazie mille!

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