From north to south, this is an extraordinary journey through beautiful Italy. Italy presents itself with its unique landscapes and its cultural heritage. This year, As many as 780 places in 400 Italian cities will be open to the public during the FAI Spring Days, Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd March. with their treasures of history, art, and nature. Often little-known, sometimes under-appreciated, many usually inaccessible. It will be a journey through places, but also through stories and traditions, often unique knowledge passed down by the communities that preserve them. For years now, FAI has not only featured villas and castles, churches and theaters, art collections, institutional offices, and natural areas, but also artisan workshops and production sites. This year, XXXIV edition of the FAI Days of Spring, even the Maradona Stadium.
For the first time the Maradona stadium in Naples
It's difficult to single out the most attractive or interesting places in this sea of special places, because each has its own unique appeal and is all of great interest. Going from flower to flower, let's start with something new this year. In Naples the FAI opens the doors of the Maradona Stadium, inaugurated in 1959, where visitors will be able to observe the playing field from the sidelines and walk the so-called “Blue Mile”, just like the athletes do.
In Milan It is worth a visit Palace of Finance, given that this will be the last time it will be seen before a major renovation. The style is from the 900s, and the tour also includes access to the bunker and vault. In Rome one of the proposals is the Palace of the Chancellery, an example of Renaissance architecture where some ecclesiastical courts and the Sacred Rota are located.
From north to south, extraordinary openings of extraordinary places
How can I not remember? in Genoa the opening of the Lantern, the most famous monument of the city, whose first written records date back to 1128. And in Sarzana, in the province of La Spezia, the Italian Navy Helicopter Station, with a tour of hangars, helicopters, and simulators to gain a first-hand understanding of the training and operations of the crews involved in safety and rescue.
We move to Turin where you cannot miss a visit to theRosine Factory, a historic city institution founded in 1756 to support women's emancipation through education and self-employment, today an artistic and cultural hub with a strong social vocation. From north to south, Messina the Renaissance will be opened Benedictine Monastery of San Placido Calonerò, which houses the Cuppari Agricultural Institute and the Provincial Wine Shop with the wine museum and the historic cellar.
The FAI commemorates the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis, the patron saint of Italy.
This year we could not miss the anniversary for the 800 years since the death of Saint Francis which the FAI remembers with a itinerario unprecedentedA selection of openings in 8 regions to highlight the figure and the spiritual and cultural legacy of Italy's patron saint. We highlight the lesser-known ones that aren't found in Umbria: Sanctuary of San Donato and the adjacent Historic Garden of San Francesco a Ripacandida – the “little Lucanian Assisi” – decorated with 500th century frescoes and recognized in 2010 by UNESCO “monument messenger of culture of peace”. And the Franciscan Complex of San Bernardino a Caravaggio, , with a precious cycle of frescoes depicting the Christ's passion.
Crafts, villages, theaters, gardens
Among the openings of the excellences of craftsmanship, theRancati Tool Shop a Cornaredo in the province of Milan, a historic art workshop specialized in the creation of stage props for the theatre and cinema, supplier of the Teatro alla Scala and reference for famous cinematographic productions, from Dolce vita a Gladiator. Among the theaters, the Puccini Theater a Merano, in the province of Bolzano, one of the most significant examples of theatrical architecture Jugendstil of the Alpine area. And again, the village of Barga in Garfagnana, with a route that will see among the stages its Duomo, one of the greatest examples of Tuscan Romanesque. And the "Enchanted Garden” of the Lorenzetti family in Sponge: It houses over 500 specimens belonging to 70 different species of camellias that bloom at different times of the year, including winter, and other rare and ancient botanical species.
The FAI Spring Days represent an extraordinary journey through Italy's cultural and landscape heritage. From the first edition in 1993 to 2025, they have led almost 13 million Italians to discover and rediscover over 17 special places. Thanks also to the contribution of 7500 volunteers DO and 17 Apprentice Ciceroni, young secondary school students who accompany visitors. Future heirs of this heritage that they must safeguard and maintain.
List of places you can visit and how to participate in the event at: www.giornatefai.it
(Featured photo: Naples, Maradona Stadium, credits: Giovanni Formosa)
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