It's too hot in Rome, and the Doria Pamphilj Gallery closes to the public

It’s too hot, and the museum decides to close: day before yesterday, Sunday, July 28, on the official Facebook page of the Doria Pamphilj Gallery in Rome, one of the capital’s most beautiful museums, where masterpieces such as Caravaggio’s Rest during the Flight into Egypt and Caravaggio’s Penitent Magdalene , not to mention Diego Velázquez and Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s bust depicting the pontiff himself, a terse notice appeared warning users that, on yesterday, Monday 29, the museum would keep its doors closed precisely because of the heat.

“In view of the extreme heat forecast,” thenotice read, “we regret to inform you that the Doria Pamphilj Gallery on Monday, July 29, 2024 will be closed to the public.” It is indeed quite hot in Rome these days (temperatures of 37 degrees are forecast for tomorrow), but the museum on Via del Corso is for the moment the only one to have taken such a measure, to the dismay of users.

“All museums should close, it doesn’t make sense,” says one Facebook user commenting on the notice. Monday, however, was the hottest day of the summer in Rome so far, with the thermometer hitting 38 degrees, and humidity of 46 percent. This is nothing new, however: it has happened before that some museums closed due to the sweltering heat, some even for more than a day. Last year, for example, the Civic Museum of Modena closed its doors for at least three weeks, between late July and mid-August, for the same reason. In 2022, several London museums closed their doors due to record heat, including the British Museum and the Victoria & Albert. The Doria Pamphilj Gallery is but the most recent museum in a long line.

Image: Doria Pamphilj Gallery, the gallery of mirrors.

It's too hot in Rome, and the Doria Pamphilj Gallery closes to the public

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