Almost 40 museums and archaeological sites across Italy will be open on the last Saturday night of every month until the end of this year, thanks to an initiative launched by Italy's culture ministry.

Beginning on Saturday 27 July, Una Notte al Museo will see 38 major cultural venues open their doors on the last Saturday each month from 20.00 until 24.00. The museums will participate until 28 December while the archaeological sites are involved in the project up to 28 September.

For the moment the initiative remains a pilot project but the objective is for it to become a fixture. The culture minister Massimo Bray said in a statement that the project is designed to "bring our museums to European standards and is intended to renew public attention to the importance of these places....citizens and tourists will have the chance, outside of the usual visiting hours, to admire the cultural heritage of Italy."

Residents and visitors to Rome can enjoy a Saturday night trip to Galleria Borghese, Palazzo Altemps, Terme di Diocleziano, Crypta Balbi, Palazzo Massimo, Palazzo Barberini, Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna (GNAM), and the Etruscan Museum at Villa Giulia, as well as Villa Adriano in the town of Tivoli, about 30km north-east of the capital.

For full list of participating venues and the months in which they are open see the Beni Culturali website