Rome's Night Tourism Trial Offers Lessons for the South

Rome is testing a new way to see its historic treasures: opening museums, parks, archaeological sites, monuments, villas and historic residences at night, according to France 24. The initiative is a response to the heatwaves and the dense daytime crowds that have saturated the capital's landmarks this summer, a strategy that officials hope will spread visitors across cooler, quieter hours.

The experiment touches a question that runs through Italy's heritage economy: how to let millions see the country's past without destroying the experience — or the sites themselves. For Basilicata, the question is not abstract. Matera, the region's showcase, has seen its ancient Sassi district become a film set and a capital of culture, drawing tourists who once would have passed it by.

Night opening is not a new idea for the deep South. But the Rome trial, with its emphasis on villas and historic residences, shows how the state is reaching beyond the usual monuments to make tourism bearable in a hot, crowded summer. Whether the model can travel to smaller cities with fewer guards and tighter budgets is another matter.