New sections of Quirinale to be opened for exhibitions

Italy's new president Sergio Mattarella has announced plans to open his official residence, Rome's historic Quirinale Palace, to the public on a daily basis.

Currently open to visitors on Sunday mornings only, the vast 16th-century palace will soon be open to the public every day, with new areas opened for temporary and permanent exhibitions.

A working group has been established to organise the details of the new opening hours but until then a virtual tour of the palace is possible via its website.

Over the centuries the 1,200-room former papal palace has been home to 30 popes, four kings of Italy and, since the 1940s, 12 presidents of the Italian republic.

Situated on the summit of Rome's Quirinal hill, the building is a third again the size of London's Buckingham Palace and 20 times the size of Washington's White House.