To celebrate the 7th Transparency Day, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation relaunches from 7 to 13 May the “Farnesina Open Doors Day”, the initiative open to the general public.
For many years now the “Farnesina Open Doors Day” renews the Ministry’s commitment to promote its heritage, in Italy and abroad. It offers an occasion in which to establish a direct dialogue with the citizens, disclose its institutional activities, disseminate the history of the building, its collections and its historical and archival records and books, thus transforming a public space into a heritage for all to share.
Google Art Institute
In light of this main mission, ‘Google Art Institute’ will be at the center stage of this year’s edition, thanks to the participation of the Farnesina Collection to the online platform through which users all around the world can access high definition images of the collections hosted in partner Museums.
Open House
The event will open on Saturday, 7 May, with the Farnesina’s first participation in Open House Roma, an annual event celebrating Rome’s design and architectural landmarks. Over 170 usually inaccessible sites, revealing architectural and artistic highlights, will be open to the public and offer free guided tours.
Guided tours
The Farnesina building will be open to the public from 11 to 13 May, when visitors will be guided along an itinerary through the most stately rooms of the bel étage, on the second and fourth floors, displaying some of the most relevant works of the Farnesina Collection, the Ministry’s collection of contemporary art.
New exhition on the 2nd floor: the ’80s and ‘90s
In particular, the display on the second floor, to be inaugurated in this edition of the “Farnesina Open Day”, is dedicated to the different movements that were active in the ’80s and ‘90s and includes, among others, works by Ubaldo Bartolini, Bruno Ceccobelli, Omar Galliani, Giorgio Griffa, Felice Levini, Titina Maselli, Renato Mambor, Piero Pizzi Cannella and Grazia Varisco.
50 years of the monumental mosaic by Toti Scialoja
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the large mosaic made for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1966), a meeting will be organised around the figure of Toti Scialoja, a multifaceted artist, illustrator, set designer, poet and teacher who worked in Rome and abroad in the second half of the 20th Century.
Italy-Japan 150
The hall of the World Globes will be devoted to the celebration of the 150 year-long relations between Italy and Japan, thanks to photographs drawn from the exhibition of artist Alessandra Maria Bonanotte called “MEIAN – Japanese Chiaroscuros”, and a documentary and bibliographical exhibition of the material belonging to the Ministry’s Historical Archive and Library, focused on the first bilateral treaty of friendship and trade signed in Edo on 25 August 1866.
The Italy-Japan Foundation is scheduled to organise a seminar to debate issues related to the history of bilateral relations.
Along the itinerary, visitors will also be able to see the projection of historical photographs showing the construction of Palazzo Farnesina.
The itinerary
Aldo Moro Room
Entrance Hall of Honour
Hall of Honour
Mosaic Room
International Conference Hall
Hall of the World Globes (Exhibitions celebrating the 150 years of Italy-Japan relations)
State Protocol Corridor
Glass walkway
Forma Room
2nd Floor (exhibition of artwork from the ’80s and ’90s)
4th Floor (drawings by Enrico del Debbio and exhibition of 21st Century artists)
Exit
How to participate
It is possible to make a reservation for a guided tour of Palazzo Farnesina for Saturday, 7 May, at this link.
To reserve a tour on 11, 12 and 13 May, you can register at this link.
Access to the building
We remind you that there will be no cloakroom service and you cannot bring in helmets, trolley bags and any other large-size bags. You are kindly requested to bring with you the ID used to register and to arrive 15 minutes early for routine security checks.
How to get there
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Piazzale della Farnesina, 1 00135 Rome
By Metro (line A) get off at Ottaviano metro station and take the 32 bus in direction to Stazione Saxa Rubra (get off at Ministero degli Affari Esteri stop)
By Metro (line A) get off at Lepanto metro station and take 301 bus in direction to Grottarossa Istituto Asisium (get off at the Lgt. Maresciallo Diaz stop) or take the 280 bus in direction of Piazza Mancini (get off at De Bosis / Stadio Tennis stop).
Bus terminus: lines 168, 628
