European Night of Museums 2026 at Sapienza: practical info and highlights

When: Saturday 23 May 2026, open from 15:00 until midnight. Free admission.

Sapienza University of Rome turns its campus into a major museum hub for the European Night of Museums and the ninth edition of Maggio Museale: 17 sites open simultaneously with temporary exhibitions, guided tours, scientific talks, children’s workshops and live performances.

Key events and exhibitions

• Museum of Etruscan and Italic Antiquities: opening of the exhibition “Etruscan Blue, Etruscan Gold” at 18:00 and the evening concert “Avanguardia Etrusca” combining archaeological narrative and sound experimentation.
• Museum of Classical Art: Ensemble MuSa Blues concert conducted by Stefano Ciuffi in the Sala Odeion (evening program starts at 20:00) and the exhibition “La calma assente. Peace and war in ancient Greece”.
• MLAC – Museum Laboratory of Contemporary Art: Italy’s first retrospective of Alì Assaf with a curator-led tour and the screening of the documentary “Segni particolari: straniero”.
• Museum of the History of Medicine: exhibition “Algorithms on the ward. From scalpel to machine learning” featuring interactive installations and demonstrations of Italian language models.
• Physics Museum: themed path “Paths of peace” exploring scientists’ contributions to international disarmament.

Family activities

Children’s and natural science museums host treasure hunts, hands-on workshops, reproductions and casts, herbarium-making and other practical activities. Participating venues include the Museum of Origins, Zoology Museum, Herbarium Museum, MUST – University Museum of Earth Sciences and the Museum of Anthropology “Giuseppe Sergi”.

Practical information

• Admission: free entry from both campus gates — Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5 and Viale dell’Università, 38.
• Times: afternoon opening from 15:00; evening program and concerts from 20:00; event closes at 24:00.
• Parking: free parking available inside the campus.
• Full program and reservations: check the Polo Museale Sapienza website for detailed schedules and workshop bookings.

The European Night of Museums aims to bring cultural heritage closer to the public: Sapienza’s broad offering spans archaeology, contemporary art, medicine and science to create a multidisciplinary evening of free access.