Denis Ton officially takes over as director of Parma's Complesso della Pilotta: "It will be a square of culture"

On Monday, April 20, 2026, the official handover at the helm of Parma’s Complesso Monumentale della Pilotta took place: Denis Ton took over as director, succeeding Stefano L’Occaso, who served as acting director from January 2024. Appointed by the Ministry of Culture on Feb. 18, Ton now enters fully into his duties with the intention of continuing and expanding the project lines already underway. Priorities include strategic interventions related to the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, focusing on security, accessibility and digital innovation.

An art historian and museologist, an expert on Italian painting and graphics of the 17th and 18th centuries, Denis Ton (1977) has built an international profile over time through collaborations with important museum institutions both in Italy and abroad. After his academic career (degree, PhD and teaching activities at the University of Padua), from 2014 to 2020 he was in charge of the scientific direction of the Civic Museums of Belluno, also taking care of the museological project and the setting up of the new headquarters of Palazzo Fulcis, inaugurated in 2017. Subsequently, from 2020 to 2026, he held the position of conservator at the Castello del Buonconsiglio in Trento, where he oversaw numerous exhibition projects and installations. At the same time, he carried out research activities at prominent institutions such as the Giorgio Cini Foundation in Venice, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Frick Collection in New York.

“I am particularly happy and honored to undertake the direction of the Complesso monumentale della Pilotta in Parma,” said Denis Ton.“A special place for anyone who is passionate about visual arts and history, a time and wonder machine capable of speaking a universal language. With its collections of excellence and such a varied heritage with a strong identity, ranging from the art, archaeological and book collections to the sites of the Antica Spezieria di San Giovanni Evangelista, the Torrechiara Castle and the archaeological area of Veleia, the museum is naturally inclined to intertwine research, enhancement and interpretation to make the spaces and works it preserves increasingly accessible and alive.”

“The goal of my mandate, which will rest on the solid foundation of those who preceded me and on the dedication and skills of the museum staff,” the newly appointed director continues, “will therefore be to create new connections between the histories of these assets, so that the extraordinary collection of works becomes a source of curiosity, joy and knowledge for a participatory community of people who live around it. The focus will therefore be on citizens, visitors and all different audiences, so that the Pilotta increasingly affirms its role as a square of culture: deeply rooted in the city but, at the same time, by its history and vocation, open to an international dimension.”

“I greet with gratitude and affection all the colleagues, staff, collaborators, professionals, scholars, friends and people who contribute to hold high the honor and to care for and spread the beauty of the Pilotta, Torrechiara Castle, the archaeological area of Veleia and the Spezieria di Parma,” said Stefano L’Occaso. “I wish the best possible work to Denis Ton, who comes to cover the role of director on a stable and lasting basis; it will be up to him to bring to a successful conclusion a number of projects that have been started and, above all, to direct and interpret a rich and complex museum reality that is affirming itself every year more and more as a reality of primary importance on the national scene.”

Denis Ton officially takes over as director of Parma's Complesso della Pilotta: "It will be a square of culture"

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