Italy's museums open for free on first Sunday of each month.

State museums and archaeological sites in Rome and across Italy will open their doors for free on Sunday 1 December as part of the monthly Domenica al Museo initiative.

The nationwide scheme, launched a decade ago, is held on the first Sunday of every month in tandem with the monthly free entry for Rome's municipal museums.

This Sunday almost all museums and archaeological sites in Rome will be open for free, however some museums such as Galleria Borghese require booking in advance.

The Pantheon, which introduced an entry fee for tourists last year, is included in the free openings on 1 December however visitors must book in advance online.

The double initiative by the state and the city of Rome allows free access to all municipal museums in Rome including the Ara Pacis and the Capitoline Museums as well as the archaeological areas of the Circus Maximus and Largo di Torre Argentina.

A new entry on the city's free museum list this year is the Forma Urbis Museum, in the archaeological park on the Caelian hill, which houses the remaining fragments of the Forma Urbis Romae, the giant marble map of ancient Rome.

Reservations to Rome's museums and archaeological sites on Sunday 1 December are only required for groups, for more information see city website or tel. 060608.

Cover image: Borromini staircase, Palazzo Barberini, Rome. Photo credit: Todamo / Shutterstock.com.