Opinions

Is it right for a seminal masterpiece by Pietro Lorenzetti to fly from Arezzo to New York?

Giorgio Vasari also speaks of the Tarlati Polyptych, a masterpiece by Pietro Lorenzetti that since 1320 has never moved from the site for which it was painted, the church of Santa Maria della Pieve in Arezzo, in his Lives: in Vasari's compendium is "...
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Museums cannot help but transform to respond to changes in contemporary society

Public debate about the scope of museum institutions, the social functions of the museum, and the actions to be taken to attract more and more visitors usually intensifies after watershed events that have collective implications, such as world confli...
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Yes, in Italy we know how to make great exhibitions and not only great exhibitions

Immediately a list of great exhibitions to answer those who say that there are no quality exhibitions in Italy: Moroni in Milan, Pierre Huyghe in Venice, the Pre-Raphaelites in Forlì, Toulouse-Lautrec in Rovigo, Masolino in Empoli, Pier France...
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A Picasso rediscovered in Pompeii? What are the still unsolved doubts

On Sept. 30, as usually happens when faced with proposed attributions with a rocambolic history behind them, a good part of the Italian media reported the news of a rediscovered Picasso, recognized as such after decades in which it had remained on di...
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The art market is in crisis because the absence of criticism and confrontation has killed the contemporary

Is the art market in crisis? And is that really a bad thing? Also, which art? That which is contemporary but is actually modern (i.e., from the late nineteenth century to the 1970s)? Or that which is truly "contemporary" and made in the last fifteen ...
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Trevi Fountain for a fee? Crazy idea, impractical, and would cause negative phenomena

I am deeply opposed to the proposal, but I say right away that the problem is not in the cost, whether it is 2 euros or 5 or 10. It is not about defending tourists from a payment. The reasons are quite different. Contrary to what Councillor Onorato i...
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Putting a fee on the Trevi Fountain: a dystopian, grotesque and wrong idea, here's why

According to Rome's tourism councilor, Alessandro Onorato, visiting the Trevi Fountain should be an "experience," whatever that means: his word, he said so in a video he posted on his Instagram profile. Now, it is not important to investigate what th...
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Trevi Fountain fee and municipalities hungry for easy money

Councillor Alessandro Onorato's idea to introduce a pay-as-you-go ticket (2 euros for half an hour) at the Trevi Fountain confirms for the umpteenth time how money-hungry Italian municipalities are becoming. Especially when this money is easy and com...
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Trevi Fountain fee? Wrong idea, it is butchery that impoverishes Rome

Vittorio Sgarbi's comment on the Rome city administration's proposal to allow access to the monument only upon payment of a ticket. Trevi Fountain for a fee? Wrong idea. The gimmick that some of the city's "attractions" are slot machines is a way to...
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What could be the trump card of the new minister Giuli

Many violent controversies have stirred the waters of the Ministry of Culture in recent days. Controversies with which the work of the two most recent ministers, Gennaro Sangiuliano and Dario Franceschini, has been stigmatized, and which have resulte...
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What Sangiuliano left behind after two years as culture minister

The letter in which the now former minister Gennaro Sangiuliano resigned is interesting, beyond the typos and references to the affair that led to his decision to leave the Roman College, especially for the claims Sangiuliano squares in a half-page ...
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Diversified museum experiences: it's not just about attracting more audiences

I believe the issue revolves not only around the simple need to attract more audiences or intercept new segments of visitors, but rather the need to offer them alternative ways of approaching a heritage that, often, is difficult to access. By offerin...
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Why it is not a good idea to send the Farnese Atlas to the Osaka Expo 2025

The Ministry of Culture statement says that the Farnese Atlas will be tasked with "representing Italian cultural heritage in our pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka," and Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano adds that putting the Farnese Atlas at the center ...
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A Million Euro Flight. Costly closure for the Valley of the Temples.

One million euros of public money and Agrigento's Valley of the Temples closed for two days (a Saturday and a Sunday in high season, to boot: Aug. 31 and Sept. 1) for a concert by "Il Volo." This, in a nutshell, is the news. It will be curious to see...
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What is the problem with Madonna celebrating in Pompeii? If anything, the attitude of the Park is surprising.

First, a premise: I see no problem if Madonna wants to celebrate her birthday by throwing a party in the ruins of Pompeii. If anything, I remain perplexed by the attitude with which the Archaeological Park of Pompeii has handled the matter: it seems ...
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A museum open to the challenges of the present: inclusive, accessible, participatory

If until a few decades ago the museum debate was oriented between museology and museography, today the consideration of visitors from a psychological and social point of view has become just as important as the enhancement of the identity of the coll...
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