Vincenzo Farinella appointed scientific director of Livorno's Civic Museums

Vincenzo Farinella is the new scientific director of Livorno’s Civic Museums : the art historian was appointed by Mayor Luca Salvetti at the end of a public selection process that saw the participation of numerous candidates. The appointment aims to strengthen the management and enhancement of Livorno’s museum heritage. The appointment given to Farinella in fact introduces, for the first time, a unified scientific direction for the main civic institutes, namely the “Giovanni Fattori” Civic Museum and the Museum of the City of Livorno. The administration’s stated goal is to build a true city museum system, capable of integrating scientific programming, exhibition activities and strategies to enhance local cultural heritage.

Farinella, born in 1957, a native of Adria but a Tuscan in his own right, graduated from the University of Pisa in 1981 and completed his master’s degree at the Normale in 1990. From 1986 to 1998 he taught art history at the Liceo Classico “Niccolini e Guerrazzi” in Livorno, and in 1998 he won the competition to become a university researcher. In time he made a career in the University of Pisa and is currently a full professor in the Department of Civilization and Forms of Knowledge at the University of Pisa, where he conducts research and teaching in the field of art history. His academic career has been accompanied over the years by an intense scientific and curatorial activity, which has led him to carry out numerous exhibition projects devoted to both modern and contemporary art history.

In fact, since 1987 he has curated exhibitions and exhibition initiatives of national importance, contributing to scientific research, popularization and enhancement of the artistic heritage. Significant projects include Andrea Mantegna. Reviving the Ancient, Building the Modern, staged at Palazzo Madama in Turin, and Raphael and the Domus Aurea. The Invention of Grotesques, organized at the Domus Aurea in Rome. Added to these are the exhibition La luce della solitudine, dedicated to Gianfranco Ferroni and hosted at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, and the exhibition Giovanni Fattori. A Revolution in Painting, held precisely at the Fattori Museum in Livorno between 2025 and 2026. The latter exhibition was a recent success on both a scholarly and public level and helped strengthen the city’s role in the national and international cultural scene.

Parallel to his curatorial activity, Farinella has participated in numerous national and international study conferences over the years, taking part as a speaker and scholar in academic meetings dedicated to art history. This path has enabled him to develop a wide network of scholarly relationships with universities, research institutes and scholars active in the field of art-historical research. Scientific production is also complemented by a vast publishing activity. In fact, Farinella is the author of numerous specialized publications and has edited several exhibition catalogs, contributing to the dissemination and deepening of art history studies.

“I have carefully analyzed the many applications for the Scientific Direction of the Civic Museums of Livorno, all of which are certainly valid,” comments Mayor Salvetti, “but that of Professor Farinella is the most suitable for the role required. His appointment represents a high-profile choice based on academic, scientific and curatorial expertise. Since 1987 he has curated numerous exhibitions of national importance, the latest being the one dedicated to Giovanni Fattori at our Civic Museum, which was an undisputed success with the public and critics. His path constitutes for the city a guarantee of quality, vision and ability to enhance our cultural heritage. But not only that: this appointment marks an important step for the city’s cultural policy. After the great success of the exhibition dedicated to Giovanni Fattori, which showed how much Livorno can express scientific quality, planning capacity and attractiveness, today we take a further step. In fact, for the first time the Fattori Museum and the City Museum will have a unified scientific direction, an essential condition for building a true city museum system. Our choice goes in the direction of an integrated enhancement, capable of connecting the two museums, strengthening their identity, improving programming and giving Livorno an even more authoritative and recognizable cultural presence.”

Vincenzo Farinella appointed scientific director of Livorno's Civic Museums

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