Open House Roma takes place from 24 May-1 June.

Rome hosts a bumper edition of the Open House initiative which opens the doors of more than 200 of the city’s most fascinating buildings, both historic and modern.

The 13th edition of Open House Roma, whose theme is Patrimonio Futuro - Future Heritage, allows visitors to explore buildings to which there is normally limited public access.

This year the annual event akes place over nine days, from 24 May-1 June, during which guided tours of historic buildings and contemporary architecture will be offered for free.

Open House Roma also offers dozens of special events and walking tours, with activities for children and visits for people who are deaf/hard of hearing or blind/visually impaired.

Some of the many highlights this year include a visit to the spiral staircase that descends from Villa Medici to the Acqua Vergine Roman aqueduct; the iconic yet unfinished Vela designed by Santiago Calatrava; Nervi's Palazzetto dello Sport built for the Rome Olympics in 1960; the Egyptian Academy.

Other sites include the new seat of the Accademia delle Belle Arti in the ex-Mattatoio; the Keat-Shelley House; Bibliotheca Hertziana; and the World Food Programme (WFP).

There is also a series of church visits based around the Vatican's ongoing Jubilee Year and a tour dedicated to the GRAB cycling ring road in Rome.

Open House Roma

Since its launch in 2012, the annual initiative dedicated to Rome’s varied architectural design has opened up hundreds of interesting, important and sometimes off-limits buildings.

The Rome version of the worldwide Open House initiative, which began in London in 1992, is co-ordinated by hundreds of volunteers from the non-profit cultural association Open City Roma.

Online booking is required for all events which are divided into various themed categories and geographical areas of the city. For full programme see the Open House website.

Cover image Chicciola di Villa Medici. Photo credit: ValerioMei / Shutterstock.com.