On International Women's Day we highlight Rome's leading museums and archaeological sites that are run by women.

Everybody knows that Rome is home to some of the world's greatest museums but not every one is aware that the management of the city's cultural heritage lies largely in the hands of women.

This is something to celebrate - and not just on Giornata Internazionale della Donna - as Italy strives to improve its gender equality record.

So who are the women in charge of Rome's museums?

When the Colosseum Archaeological Park was established in 2017, archaeologist Alfonsina Russo beat 77 other candidates to land the new role of managing the Colosseum, Roman Forum, Palatine Hill and Domus Aurea. Since she took up her post, Russo has spearheaded multiple restorations, dynamic cultural projects, digital innovations and opened up previously inaccessible areas of the Palatine Hill - leading a team of women archaeologists and restorers.

In 2016 Pope Francis appointed Babara Jatta as the first woman director of the Vatican Museums which includes the Sistine Chapel. A specialist in art history, Jatta has undertaken numerous restoration projects including the frescoes in the Raphael Rooms. She has also raised the profile of one of the world's most prestigious museums and is the most prominent female administrator in the Vatican.

Galleria Borghese, home to a priceless collection of works by Bernini, Caravaggio and Raphael, is directed by professor of modern art history Francesca Cappelletti who took over in late 2020 from the long-standing director Anna Coliva. Within her first few months Cappelletti acquired a Guido Reni painting for the Villa Borghese collection and since then has launched a series of new digital programmes and staged major exhibitions.

Edith Gabrielli is the first director of the newly-created autonomous museum in the capital which combines the Vittoriano and Palazzo Venezia. A scholar of art history and museology, Gabrielli has a long career within the ranks of Italy's culture ministry, becoming its youngest historic art director in 2010. She is currently overseeing a major restoration of the Vittoriano.

The Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea (GNAM) hosts Italy's national collection of modern art and is run by Renata Cristina Mazzantini who recently replaced Cristiana Collu after eight years at the helm. An architect and curator, Mazzantini comes to GNAM having curated the successful Quirinale Contemporaneo project since 2019 as well as numerous other high-level cultural projects and exhibitions.

Women also play a leading role in the contemporary art world in Rome, running private art galleries such as Galleria Valentina Bonomo, Maja Arte Contemporanea and the Dorothy Circus Gallery.

• Who are Italy's new museum directors?

Chiostro del Bramante, an extraordinary example of High Renaissance architecture designed by Donato Bramante in 1500, is today a well-known art museum hosting major exhibitions. The Chiostro is run by three sisters: Laura, Giulia and Natalia de Marco, who have staged around 45 shows - ranging from Turner to Banksy - since the building's restoration in 1996.

To celebrate the 2024 edition of Giornata internazionale della donna, women will have free entry to state-run museums and archaeological sites across Italy on Friday 8 March.

By Andy Devane

Originally published on 8 March 2021, updated on 8 March 2024. Cover photo La Repubblica.