In 2018, over 55 million people visited Italian museums and archaeological sites, with an increase of more than 5 million compared to 2017. The Italian Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities (MiBAC) issue the relative data and explained that the increase concerned both paid and free admissions with an increase in gross proceeds of more than €35.4 million.
As far as the ranking of sites is concerned, the most visited one is still the area including the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine; the area scored a +8.73% of visits compared with 2017. In the second place there is the archaeological area of Pompeii, which increases the number of visitors by 7.78%. While the bronze medal goes to the Vasari Corridor in Uffizi gallery in Florence, which in 2018 welcomed 2.231.071 visitors.
Among the 30 most visited sites in 2018 the ones with the greatest increase in visits have been: the Musei Reali Torino (+27.82%), Palazzo Pitti in Florence (+24.23%), the Grotte di Catullo and the Archaeological Museum of Sirmione (+18,83%), and the Boboli Gardens in Florence (+17.92%) which is the fifth most visited site in Italy.
At the head of the regional ranking of the first thirty most visited sites in Italy we find Lazio, with eight sites, then Campania with six sites, Tuscany with five, Lombardy with four, Piedmont with three, Veneto with two, and Puglia and Friuli Venezia Giulia with one each.
Ilona Catani Scarlett