Move follows appeal by Italy's smaller museums to culture ministry.

Italy's smaller museums will no longer require visitors to book in advance for weekend visits after the government announced the easing of the country's covid-19 restrictions.

• Italy opens museums at weekends in covid yellow zones

The previous system had obliged visitors to book "at least one day in advance" to visit all museums at weekends however this requirement has been modified following an appeal to the culture ministry, reports Artribune.

The measure was intended to reduce contagion risks from over-crowding however smaller museums argued that, due to their lower profile and often remote locations, they relied on impromptu weekend visitors.

• Lesser known museums in Italy

The appeal, signed by a collection of museum networks in Tuscany, centred on "small museums, often located in historic villages," with visits described as "for the most part unplanned" and "impromptu... perhaps decided at the last moment."

Under the latest easing of covid-19 restrictions, announced on Monday night, smaller museums will be excluded from compulsory advance reservations at weekends.

• Rome's free museums

The culture ministry has retained the obligation to reserve weekend visits at least 24 hours ahead for "museums and places of culture which registered more than one million visitors in 2019."

These have been identified as the Pantheon, Colosseum, Pompeii, Uffizi, the Accademia Gallery in Florence and Castel S. Angelo. 

Image: Italy's Etruscan Museum at Villa Giulia. Photo credit: Valery Rokhin / Shutterstock.com.

Musei, #MiC: obbligo prenotazione visite fine settimana solo per grandi siti (statali: Pantheon, Colosseo, Pompei, Uffizi, Galleria Accademia Firenze e Castel Sant’Angelo. @dariofrance: «Ulteriore passo verso graduale ritorno a normalità». https://t.co/eHleRr6e9u #museitaliani pic.twitter.com/fjLiBR1lQk

— Ministero della cultura (@MiC_Italia) May 19, 2021