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With more than 300 coronavirus-related deaths and over 6,000 cases confirmed, Italy restricted travel for a quarter of its population on Sunday. The virus has so far spread through all of the country’s regions—forcing art institutions to cancel scheduled programming and close for weeks on end.
The Scuderie del Quirinale in Rome, where a major Raphael exhibition opened on March 5, has closed until further notice. The show, which marks 500 years since the Renaissance painter’s death, features more than 200 works and was set to run through June 2. According to a report by France 24, some 70,000 tickets for the exhibition had been purchased in advance.
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Other Roman institutions affected by the outbreak include the Galleria Borghese, the Capitoline Museums, the Vatican Museums, and the MAXXI museum of contemporary art, which will remain closed until April 3, as well as the Villa Medici, which is shuttered until further notice. Cultural attractions like the Colosseum and the Forum have also closed.
Other museums in Italy’s northern region that closed in February remain shuttered. The Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Fondazione Prada, and Palazzo Grassi (an institution helmed by ARTnews Top 200 Collector François Pinault) are among those impacted. The Duomo di Milano is also closed to tourists, though its prayer area is open. The Venice Architecture Biennale announced last week that it would postpone its 2020 edition, which was scheduled to open on May 23.
French museums are also taking precautionary measures. The Louvre closed temporarily last week and, upon its reopening, stopped accepting cash for tickets in an attempt to mitigate the spread of the virus. Now, the museum will only admit visitors who purchased tickets online and those who have free access through their membership or other credentials.
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