This Sunday October 15, take part in FAI’s Giornata d’Autunno (Autumn Day), your chance to discover little-known aspects and monuments of 185 Italian cities, guided by the young volunteers of FAI (Fondo Ambiente Italiano), a non-profit organization working to protect and restore Italy's cultural heritage.
By participating, you’ll also be contributing to FAI’s mission as access to monuments is by donation (2, 3 or 5 euros). FAI members will have dedicated access points and/or priority access. 170 unusual themed itineraries will be on offer, to make citizens more aware of the historical, artistic and architectural beauty that surrounds them every day, but is too often overlooked or disrespected.
There are many sites open in Milan, which is located in Lombardy, our featured region of the month. Some of them include a number of historical archives, as well as the library of the world-famous Conservatory of Milan, the library of the Museum of Natural History, and the Torre Zaha Hadid, the skyscraper designed by Anglo-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid, which symbolizes the ‘modern reconversion’ of a historical area of Milan.
Some of the sites open in Rome include Palazzo Corsini, where you’ll be able to discover a part of the history of Rome, where the abundance of water from the nearby river Tiber and panoramic views given the position on the Gianicolo hill, led to the creation of elegant residences, gardens and botanical collections. Other sites open for visits in Rome include the gardens of Villa Farnesina and the Accademia Reale di Spagna.
In Venice, go off the beaten track to the discovery of the Basilica di San Pietro di Castello, to the Torre dell’Arsenale and to the Complex of the Pio Loco delle Penitenti.
Florence, another Italian destination with much to explore beyond the usual Piazza della Signoria and Santa Croce, head to the Ex Manifattura Tabacchi, a former industrial complex covering about 100,000 square meters, to be reconverted to various uses. Another site open on FAI’s Fall Day is the Parco delle Cascine, used for agricultural reasons since the time of the Medici.
These are just some of the visits scheduled for Sunday, for a complete list, click here.
FAI, Fondo Ambiente Italiano, is a national, not-for-profit trust that was set up in 1975 and has since gone on to save, restore and open to the public numerous fine examples of Italy's artistic and natural heritage.
