Cortili Aperti: Italy’s Annual Open Courtyards Event

For more than 20 years, ADSI (Associazione Dimore Storiche Italiane), aka the Historic Home Association of Italy, has been working in conjunction with the owners of the country’s estates and villas to bring to the public a program called Cortili Aperti, or “Open Courtyards.”

The annual open courtyard event, also called Giornate ADSI, usually takes place in late May and gives visitors the unique opportunity to see inside historic properties in more than a dozen cities, including Rome, Bologna, Florence, Lecce, Milan, and Palermo.

Participating estates typically choose to open their courtyards and landscaped gardens. But some go so far as to open up their living rooms.

Some past, and perhaps future, participants in the Open Courtyards initiative include:

• Villa Aldobrandini in Frascati (near Rome)
• Palazzo Albergati, Bologna
• Villa del Principe, Genoa
• Castello Romagnano, Turin
• Palazzo Gangi, Palermo
• Palazzo Terzi, Bergamo
• Villa Mosconi Bertani, near Verona

If you love castles, elaborate gardens, and posh villas, this is a fantastic opportunity to take a peek behind the gates and doors of Italy’s very private palazzi.

Visit the ADSI website for more information on this year’s program and participating cities.

Photo © redbeetle