The FAI Autumn Days return this weekend to Italy. For this 11th edition, some 700 exceptional venues will be open in 350 Italian cities. Zoom on the wonders of Rome.
What are FAI Days?
The FAI, Fondo Ambiente Italiano (Italian Fund for the Environment) is a non-profit fund that aims to preserve and raise awareness of Italy’s cultural and natural heritage. Every year and twice a year, in spring and autumn, it is possible to discover places that are usually difficult to access, allowing everyone to immerse themselves in art, history and nature and to grasp the splendor of the territories. that surround us.
The event is part of the “Let’s remember to save Italy” fundraising campaign, in support of the FAI’s mission, which has been committed for more than 40 years. Thus, among the many places open in all regions, it will be possible to visit palaces, villas, churches, castles, archaeological areas, museums, military sites, places of education and research centers, which will be shown through the passionate and original eyes of FAI volunteers.
The FAI wonders to visit in Rome
This weekend, it will be possible to visit several exceptional places during these days in the Roman city center.
Il Palazzo delle Radio, the headquarters of RAI since 1954 (Via Asiago 10)
The famous RAI headquarters, usually closed to the public, will be exceptionally open this weekend. It was built between 1929 and 1931 to house the EIAR, the Italian body for radio hearings, which moved there in 1932. When it was inaugurated that same year, the building represented everything it could more modern from a technological point of view at the time: recording or broadcasting rooms for orchestral, lyrical and even symphonic music. This visit will allow you to retrace the entire history of the RAI headquarters, discovering the places where the most famous radio programs were broadcast, entering the recording rooms still in operation while discovering their acoustic characteristics thanks to to the sound engineers present on site.
(Attention, place reserved for FAI members)
The Palazzo Del Commendatore of the S. Spirito Hospital (Borgo Santo Spirito 3)
If the Santo Spirito Hospital has a millennial existence, the Palazzo del Commendatore was born at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries to house the head of the hospital. The building, although incorporated into the health complex, is centered on a courtyard considered to be one of the most excellent architectures in 16th century Rome. Built around and serving the seat of the papacy and St. Peter’s Basilica, Santo Spirito Hospital quickly established itself as one of the most important places of assistance in Rome but also in all of Europe.
The Basilica of Santa Croce in Jerusalem, Piazza di Santa Croce in Gerusalemme
The Basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme stands on the Esquiline Hill in an area rich in history, art and spirituality. It was built in the 4th century AD at the request of Helena, mother of Constantine, to keep the relics of Christ’s passion miraculously found on Calvary and brought to Rome by the emperor’s elderly mother after a trip to the Holy Land in 326 A.D. During the visit it will be possible to discover the sixteen centuries of life of the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem, in a journey through archaeology, the art, botany and spirituality that only a few places in Rome can offer.
(Attention, in case of particular crowds, access to the site may not be guaranteed)
The Monumental Complex of San Cosimato (Piazza di San Cosimato)
During this weekend it will also be possible to visit the Monumental Complex of San Cosimato, located in the Trastevere district. This historic corner in the heart of Rome, dedicated to a Saint who does not exist, houses a monastery founded between 936 and 937. Between 1875 and 1892, following the reunification of the Kingdom of Italy, the complex was transformed into a hospice then in hospital in 1960. This visit allows you to discover a small church from the 10th century, called “in mica aurea” because of the presence of yellowish sand from the bed of the Tiber, but also a medieval cloister or the splendid “Virgin of the choir”. .
Palazzo Firenze, seat of UNESCO and the Dante Alighieri Society (Piazza di Firenze, 27)
Located in the heart of Renaissance Rome, inside Campo Marzio, it is home to a wealth of breathtaking architectural decorations and techniques. Among the main architects of the very rich interior decoration is the artist Prospero Fontana, who was brought into the circles of Michelangelo himself.
In addition to being the headquarters of UNESCO, it is also that of the Dante Alighieri Society, which aims to “protect and spread the Italian language and culture in the world, as well as to rekindle spiritual and compatriot ties abroad with the mother country and nurturing among foreigners love and culture for Italian civilization”.
It is possible to consult all the scheduled openings of the FAI Autumn Days on the website www.giornatefai.it. It is also recommended to book visits on this same site. Some places are reserved for FAI members.
A contribution from 3 euros is proposed but is not obligatory; it is a donation to support the FAI’s mission to protect and enhance the cultural heritage.
Lola Descamps