Every first Sunday of the month, Abruzzo’s state museums, castles, abbeys, and archaeological sites throw open their doors for free. It is one of the best deals in Italy. You can stand in front of the Capestrano Warrior, walk the streets of a Roman town, or climb a medieval castle without paying a cent at the door. The scheme is called Domenica al Museo, and it runs right across the country.
There is a second free day each year too, on the 25th of April, for the Festa della Liberazione, Italy’s Liberation Day. One thing to know before you set off: only the permanent collections are free. If a site is hosting a special temporary exhibition, you may still pay for that part. Opening hours change with the season, and some places now ask you to book, so it is worth a quick check on each site’s official page or the free Musei Italiani app first. This is especially true for the smaller abbeys and archaeological areas, which sometimes keep short or seasonal hours.
We’ve grouped the sites by province below, so you can pick one close to home or build a proper day out around it. The map of every Abruzzo site is at the foot of the page.
L’Aquila Province
MuNDA, Museo Nazionale d’Abruzzo
Open Tuesday to Sunday, 08.30-19.30. Website, address: via Tancredi da Pentima (ex Mattatoio), 67100 L’Aquila (AQ). The region’s flagship museum, rehoused after the 2009 earthquake, is showing exceptional loaned masterpieces this year alongside its own collection.
Area Archeologica di Amiternum
Open Saturday and Sunday, 09.00-18.00. Website, address: Frazione S. Vittorino, 67010 L’Aquila (AQ). The Roman town where the historian Sallust was born has a theatre and amphitheatre just outside the city.
Castello Piccolomini, Collezione Torlonia e Museo d’Arte Sacra della Marsica
Open Wednesday to Sunday, 08.30-19.30, website, address – largo Cavalieri di Vittorio Veneto – 67043 Celano (AQ). A handsome hilltop castle above the Fucino plain, holding sacred art, sculpture, and goldwork from across the Marsica. Read our review.
MUSE’, Museo delle Paludi di Celano
Check current hours and booking on the official site or the Musei Italiani app, address – Località Paludi – 67043 Celano (AQ). A striking modern museum built around a Bronze Age lake-dwelling village, with waterlogged finds you rarely see preserved anywhere else.
Area Archeologica di Alba Fucens
Check current hours on the official site or the Musei Italiani app. Address: via Alba Fucens, 67062 Massa d’Albe (AQ). One of the region’s great open-air sites: a whole Roman town below Monte Velino, with a forum, basilica, amphitheatre, and the lovely church of San Pietro built into an old temple. A superb free morning out.
Abbazia di Santo Spirito al Morrone
Check current hours on the official site or the Musei Italiani app. Address: Badia, 67039 Sulmona (AQ). A vast monastery at the foot of Monte Morrone, once the mother house of Celestine V. The scale of it takes people by surprise.
Chieti Province
Museo Archeologico Nazionale d’Abruzzo, Villa Frigerj
Open Wednesday 09.00-13.30, Saturday and Sunday 15.00-19.30 (open only on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month), website, address – via Guido Costanzi – 66100 Chieti (CH). Home to the Capestrano Warrior, the sixth-century BC statue that is the emblem of ancient Abruzzo. Worth the trip on its own.
Museo Archeologico Nazionale “La Civitella” e Aree Archeologiche dell’Antica Teate
Open Wednesday 09.00-13.30, Saturday and Sunday 09.00-13.30 (open only on the 1st and 3rd Sundays), website, address – via Generale Pianell – 66100 Chieti (CH). A modern museum built into a Roman amphitheatre, telling the story of ancient Teate, today’s Chieti.
Parco Archeologico di Iuvanum
Open daily from 08.30 to sunset, website, address – Località Santa Maria del Palazzo – 66010 Montenerodomo (CH). A quiet upland Roman and Italic site, forum and temples spread across a high plateau below the Maiella.
Area Archeologica di Monte Pallano
Check current hours on the official site or the Musei Italiani app. Address: Località Monte Pallano, 66046 Tornareccio (CH). A remote hilltop with massive polygonal walls, wide views over the Sangro valley, and good walking all around.
Abbazia di San Giovanni in Venere
Check current hours on the official site or the Musei Italiani app. Address: 66022 Fossacesia (CH). A Benedictine abbey on a headland above the Trabocchi coast, with a carved portal, a frescoed crypt, and the sea glittering below. One of Abruzzo’s most photographed spots.
Pescara Province
Museo Casa Natale di Gabriele d’Annunzio
Open Thursday to Sunday, 08.30-14.00, website, address – corso Manthonè, 116 – 65127 Pescara (PE). The birthplace of the poet, kept with the furnishings and atmosphere of his nineteenth-century childhood.
Abbazia di San Clemente a Casauria
Check current hours on the official site or the Musei Italiani app. Address: 65020 Castiglione a Casauria (PE). A ninth-century abbey with a glorious carved facade and bronze doors, set among the poplars of the Pescara valley.
Taverna Ducale
Check current hours on the official site or the Musei Italiani app. Address: via Garibaldi, 65026 Popoli (PE). A rare piece of medieval civic architecture, once the store and counting house of the dukes of Popoli.
Chiesa di San Bartolomeo
Check current hours on the official site or the Musei Italiani app. Address: 65010 Carpineto della Nora (PE). A small Romanesque church in the wooded hills below the Gran Sasso, worth pairing with a walk.
Teramo Province
Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Campli e Area Archeologica di Campovalano
Open Tuesday to Saturday 08.30-13.30 and Sundays 14.30-19.00. Website, address: Piazza San Francesco, 64012 Campli (TE). The finds from the great necropolis of Campovalano, housed in an old Franciscan convent in one of Abruzzo’s prettiest borghi. If you visit in early July, the truffle sagra is on the doorstep.
A Few Practical Notes
Free entry covers the permanent collection only. Temporary exhibitions may still charge. Hours can change with little notice, and some sites now ask you to book in advance, so always confirm before you travel, especially for the abbeys and archaeological sites. The free Musei Italiani app is the quickest way to check hours and reserve a place. And remember, entry is free, but getting there isn’t, so factor in your fuel or train fare.
See which museums are free in the other regions of Italy on the main Domenica al Museo website.
Map of the Domenica al Museo Sites in Abruzzo
See which museums are free in the other regions in Italy on the main Domenico al Museo website
Author: Sam Dunham
Sam is a freelance SEO content creator and IGCSE Geography and English teacher in Rome. She also runs the Life In Abruzzo Cultural Association, sharing stories and insights about this captivating region. Alongside raising a teenager, Sam hosts guests at her family’s traditional home, the Little House of the Firefly in Abruzzo, offering a warm welcome and insider tips on local culture, food, and hidden gems.
