Florence Marks Holocaust Remembrance Day with Free Visits

Florence will mark Holocaust Remembrance Day on 27 January with a series of special initiatives at some of the city’s most significant places of memory. The programme includes free guided visits at the former Murate prison, today home to the MAD Murate Art District, at Museo Novecento, and at the Memoriale delle Deportazioni.

Holocaust Remembrance Day is observed every year on 27 January, the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in 1945. In Italy, it is an official day of remembrance dedicated to the victims of the Holocaust and to those who were deported, persecuted or killed under Nazi and Fascist rule.

Visits at the former Murate prison

At 3 p.m. and 4.30 p.m. on 27 January, two free guided tours will take place inside the Murate complex, focusing on its past as a prison in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The visits include access to the so-called “hard prison” section, the most severe detention area, where several prominent anti-Fascist intellectuals were once held, including Carlo Ludovico Ragghianti, Carlo Levi and Gaetano Salvemini.

The Murate were also used as a holding site during the Second World War, where detainees were gathered before being deported to Nazi camps.

Museo Novecento: art under persecution

At the same times, 3 p.m. and 4.30 p.m., Museo Novecento will host two thematic guided tours of its permanent collection. The visits focus on Italian art during the years of dictatorship and war, highlighting artists who were persecuted or who actively opposed the regime.

The itinerary includes works by artists such as Mario Mafai, Carlo Levi and Renato Guttuso, and pays particular attention to the role of collector Alberto Della Ragione, who helped protect artists and safeguard their works during the most difficult years.

Guided tours at the Memorial of Deportations

The Memorial of Deportations, a key site of remembrance in Florence, will also offer free guided tours on several dates: 23, 24, 25, 26, 30 and 31 January at 10 a.m. and 11.30 a.m., and on 1 February at 11.30 a.m., 3 p.m. and 4.30 p.m.

The memorial hosts the immersive installation originally created by Italy for the Auschwitz extermination camp and later relocated to Florence. Participation in the guided visits is free, but booking is required. Reservations can be made by phone at +39 055 0541450 or by email at info@musefirenze.it.

Additional talks and in-depth events are planned at the memorial in coordination with the Tuscany regional government, the City of Florence, the City of Prato and institutions dedicated to the history of deportation. Further information is available on the memorial’s official website.

All initiatives aim to provide historical context and reflection for residents, students and visitors, linking Florence’s local history to the wider European tragedy of the Holocaust.

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