While in Rome in November 2022, I was lucky to be there for the Music in Museums (Musei in Musica) event.  Then in May 2023, I enjoyed the Night at the Museums (La Notte dei Musei).  Both are intended to be recurring events. They open up many of Rome’s museums, cultural organizations, and other sites either for free or just €1.

Among the activities, there are concerts, readings, and other special performances. Events like these are great fun and a wonderful way to discover new museums, or, in my case, return to where you haven’t been for a while.

Music in Museums took place on Saturday November 19, 2022. I went to the Galleria d’Arte Moderna, just up the street from us at Via Francesco Crispi.

Regular admission, including the exhibit I wanted to see, would normally be €10, but for this evening it was just €1.  The museum was quite popular, but there was no line to get in.  The musical performance was a group spoken word performance à la beat poetry.  I didn’t understand much of it and rapidly lost interest.  But I was happy to explore the rest of this little gem of a museum, which I had not visited in several years.

 

 

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I particularly enjoyed the exhibit Pasolini Pittore, a special exhibit timed for the 100th anniversary of the birth of Pier Paolo Pasolini (1922-1975), whom I always thought of as primarily a filmmaker and writer. I was also interested because [name drop] my father knew Pasolini and had him lecture at AUR, inspiring some students to go on to filming careers.  Little did I know, until I saw the exhibit, that he had also studied as a painter.

 

 

I also really enjoyed the museum’s courtyard, dramatically lit, with some works by street artists Sten + Lex, whose work I always enjoy.

 

 

More on my experience at Night at the Museums in a later post!