by Redazione 03/11/2026

Born in 1980, Luca Mercuri—a classical archaeologist and art historian—became the new Director General of Museums at the Ministry of Culture in 2026. He succeeded Massimo Osanna.

Archaeologist Luca Mercuri is the new director of the General Directorate of Museums, with a three-year term. AgCult announced this a few minutes ago, stating that it had learned the news from reliable sources. Mercuri, currently director of the Pantheon–Castel Sant’Angelo Institute, takes over from Massimo Osanna, who was appointed in June 2026 as head of the ministry’s Department of Cultural Activities, and now takes the helm of the agency that oversees the system of state museums after a career spent entirely within the ministry, where he joined in 2010 as an archaeologist, and where his responsibilities have included heritage preservation, the management of museums and sites, and institutional communications.

Born in 1980, Mercuri is a classical archaeologist. He graduated in 2003 from the University of Bologna’s Ravenna campus with a degree in Cultural Heritage Conservation, earning a grade of 110 cum laude and an honorable mention; He then specialized in archaeology at the Italian Archaeological School of Athens and, in 2010, earned a Ph.D. in History, Archaeology, and Anthropology of the Ancient World from the University of Siena. In 2019, while already serving as a civil servant, he earned a second master’s degree in Art History from the University of Perugia, also with a grade of 110 cum laude. His first assignment took him to the Superintendence for Archaeological Heritage of Emilia-Romagna, where he served from 2010 to 2012: there he coordinated the archaeological restoration laboratory and the Superintendency’s library and was responsible for the archaeological preservation of over forty municipalities in the province of Modena, including the provincial capital, as well as serving as the liaison for the area’s civic museums. Between 2012 and 2013, he handled requests for excavation permits on a national scale for the General Directorate of Antiquities.

From 2012 to 2015, he joined the Superintendence for Archaeological Heritage of Southern Etruria, which later became the Superintendence of Archaeology of Lazio and Southern Etruria. In this capacity, Mercuri served as deputy director of the National Archaeological Museum of Tarquinia and coordinator of the Exhibitions and Loans Office, as well as scientific director of the rock-cut necropolises of Norchia and Castel d’Asso, ancient Bieda, and the San Giovenale necropolis in Blera, the Roman villa and the rock-cut necropolis of Villa San Giovanni in Tuscia, also as part of the memorandum of understanding signed by the Superintendency with the Lazio Region and the Province of Viterbo for the integrated management of these sites.

Between 2015 and 2019, Mercuri worked in the Ministry’s Press and Communications Office, within the Cabinet Offices: He was specifically involved in projects to promote and enhance cultural heritage, provide support for state ceremonies and major institutional events, carry out communication campaigns—including those conducted in collaboration with the Office of the Prime Minister—and coordinate the Ministry’s digital communications, ranging from official social media channels to websites and portals dedicated to individual projects. In 2019, he moved to the Lazio Museum Network, which was divided in 2020 into the Lazio Regional Museums Directorate and the State Museums of the City of Rome Directorate. During that period, until 2021, he served as director of the Pantheon for the first time, in addition to heading the Exhibitions and Loans Office, while also serving as a notary public; in 2021, he also oversaw the National Archaeological Museum and Archaeological Site of Sperlonga and the National Archaeological Museum of Formia.

His move into executive management came in 2021, with a fixed-term appointment as Regional Director of Museums for Puglia, a position he held until 2023. During those same years, he served on the board of directors of the National Archaeological Museum of Taranto, which he also directed as deputy director in 2023. After becoming a tenured second-tier executive in 2024, Mercuri returned to the Pantheon, this time at the helm of the institution that brings together the Pantheon, Castel Sant’Angelo, and the National Museums Directorate of the City of Rome: first as deputy director, in 2025 as interim director, and since 2026 as director—a position he obtained following an international public selection process. In addition to the two monuments that give the institution its name, his jurisdiction extends to the house museums of Mario Praz, Boncompagni Ludovisi, and Hendrik Christian Andersen; the National Museum of Musical Instruments; the Giacomo Manzù Museum in Ardea; Casa Pasolini; Casa Balla; and Villa Zeri in Mentana.

At the same time, since 2024, he has headed Service III of the General Directorate of Museums, dedicated to the public access and communication of cultural heritage, and in 2026 he became its deputy director. He has also served on the boards of directors of several institutions: the National Roman Museum, from 2025 to the present; the Borghese Gallery, the Vittoriano, and Palazzo Venezia, between 2025 and 2026; and, since 2025, the National Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia and the Appia Antica Archaeological Park.

Throughout his career, Mercuri has overseen new openings, redesigns, exhibitions, and enhancement projects in Italy and abroad; he is the author of studies on historical, archaeological, and museological topics; and he has conducted teaching and research activities both in Italy and abroad. In the academic sphere, he served as an adjunct professor in the Graduate School of Archaeological Heritage at the University of Basilicata in Matera, teaching the course “Design and Communication for Archaeological Heritage” during the academic years 2021–2022 through 2023–2024, and in 2025–2026, he will teach “Communication of Archaeological Heritage” at the Graduate School of the University of Tuscia in Viterbo.

Luca Mercuri is the Ministry's new Director General of Museums. He succeeds Osanna

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