Rome's Night Tourism Push Offers Milan a Blueprint for Summer Strain

Rome is testing a new tourism strategy this summer: opening its historic sites at night. According to France 24, the initiative includes museums, parks, archaeological sites, monuments, villas and historic residences, a response to recent heatwaves and the big crowds that saturate the capital's tourist attractions during the day.

The experiment comes as southern Europe endures another scorching summer, with wildfires spreading across Greece, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Germany and the UK, forcing evacuations and causing major damage, France 24 reported this week.

For Milan, the capital's night-time experiment is being watched closely. Lombardy's tourism economy — built around fashion, design and business travel rather than ancient ruins — faces the same twin pressures of heat and overcrowding, though on a different calendar.