Nearly 400 of Italy's most beautiful residences are open to visitors this weekend as part of efforts to share private heritage with the public.

Sunday, May 27th is the National Day of the Italian Historic Houses Association and will see hundreds of period homes, castles, villas, manors, farmhouses and gardens waive entry fees for Italian and overseas visitors alike.
Properties all over Italy are taking part, from the Naples palazzo where French painter Edgar Degas lived and worked to
a Renaissance palace in Rome once given to King Henry VII as a gift, from a 19th-century Piedmontese villa surrounded by spectacular botanical gardens to a tower on an island in the Venetian Lagoon .
All of the properties are privately owned and some are usually only accessible to invitees, hotel guests or researchers.
The event is part of a Europe-wide Private Heritage Week, which aims to open up historic buildings not owned by the state or public trusts. It's also a chance to showcase the conservation efforts undertaken by private owners, who in Italy especially play an important role in preserving the country's cultural treasures.
For full details of Sunday's programme, which includes special events, concerts and tours, see the Italian Historic Houses Association website.
Here are just a few of the properties you can visit:
Castello del Poggio, Guardea, Umbria
Photo: Marco Ludovi