Once a year in May, museums in Rome are open to the public from 8 pm to 2 am for Notte dei Musei (Museum Night) for a symbolic one Euro entrance fee.  The concept started in reunified Germany in the late 90s and was popularized in Paris with the free Nuit Blanche (white night) events starting in 2002.  I remember staying out all night with my graduate school friends back then and being struck by the spirit of celebrating cultural events.

 The Museum Night concept has spread since then and became part of a Europe wide initiative in 2005.  This year the event took place on May 21.  In Rome, events took place at the major municipal museums, universities, and private academies and foreign cultural institutions.  In addition to the regular collections, most venues add special exhibitions or entertainment for the event.  The municipal museum’s website publishes information on participating venues and special shows for Museum Night.  

Most of details on specific programs was available only in Italian.  After some time spent on google translate and asking co-workers for advice, we decided to go to my favorite museum, the Imperial Forum Museum at Trajan’s Market.  Although the last entrance is at 1 am, co-workers recommended arriving at the beginning of the night to catch the show.  We decided to make a girls night out of the event with an early dinner.

The program at Trajan’s Market featured a musical performance (Le Immagina Della Musica) with Massimo Alvita and Alessandor Papotto.  Even at 8 pm, the line was starting to wind around the street but it moved quickly.  It helped that the museum footprint is so large that it can accommodate a huge number of people without feeling crowded.  

What a fantastic backdrop for the performance with views of the Imperial Forum.  

There were three shows (9:30, 10:30 and 11:30 pm) for the musical performance

So many levels to enjoy the music and views from.