Sunday 3 March sees the renewal of the appointment with Sunday at the Museum, the Ministry of Culture initiative that allows free admission, every first Sunday of the month, to state museums and archaeological parks.
The National Museum of San Matteo will be open from 9 am to 1.30 pm (last entrance at 1 pm)
At 11 am the presentation of the polyptych signed by Simone Martini, curated by museum staff, will be held.
The work is the only one by the great Sienese master that has come down to us almost intact and can be admired in a single exhibition venue. Conceived to celebrate the Dominican order, it was erected on the high altar of the Pisan church of Saint Catherine of Alexandria. Among the saints depicted here is Thomas Aquinas, the philosopher and theologian canonised in 1323, whose death anniversary falls on 7 March. From its history, iconography, material events and restoration, the highlights of a 14th-century masterpiece will be summarised.
The National Museum of Palazzo Reale will be open from 9 am to 1:30 pm (last admission at 1 pm).
At 10 am and 11.30 am will be presented "PERFORMANCE AT THE MUSEUM", a travelling dance performance by Kinesis CDC, choreographed by Angelo Egarese and Camilla Esposito. A contemporary dance performance in which the Duchess Eleonora di Toledo will take the public on a journey through the evocative rooms of the museum, retracing the roles she embodied during her life.
After welcoming the spectators in the Sala degli Arazzi together with her court, the Duchess will tell her story as a young bride, dance together with her daughters Maria, Isabella and Lucrezia until the day she passed away in the city of Pisa.
Dance, music and costumes will create unprecedented dialogues between past and present, paying homage to the museum and the women of the Medici family.
The performance is part of the Festa della Toscana 2023 event, in the project Rights & Humans IX edition in collaboration with the National Museum of the Royal Palace of Pisa, with the co-participation of the Regional Council of Tuscany and the Regional Directorate of Museums of Tuscany, with the support of the Region of Tuscany, Fondazione Cr Firenze, Florence Dance Festival, D.A.C.
The museums of the Sistema Museale d'Ateneo will also have free admission:
Botanic Garden and Museum, open from 8.30 am to 6 pm (last entrance at 5 pm), https://www.ortomuseobot.sma.unipi.it/
Museo della Grafica, open from 9 am to 7 pm, with the current exhibition "Giacomo Matteotti: ritratto per immagine", https://museodellagrafica.sma.unipi.it/
Egyptological Collections, open from 3 to 6 pm, https://www.egitto.sma.unipi.it/