Some of our friends, readers, and Facebook fans have asked us why we have lavished words on the appointments of Massimo Bray and Ilaria Borletti Buitoni but have made no comment on the appointment of Giancarlo Galan as chairman of the House Culture Committee1. Our response: do you feel it is appropriate to comment? On Bray and Borletti Buitoni one could at least discuss ideas, whether they were shareable or not. On Galan, the only thing we can do is to recall his recent record, that is, when the PdL parliamentarian had anything to do with culture.
On March 23, 2011, Galan was appointed Minister of Cultural Heritage following the resignation of Sandro Bondi2. Meanwhile, ex-minister Galan is remembered for his program for cultural heritage, based on the assumption “culture is the country’s gasoline” (we have already discussed several times on the website how inappropriate-as well as old-this metaphor is). Among his proposals: a “youth council for the ministry of cultural heritage with the best Italian graduates in the field” (never formed), “norms to facilitate the ministry’s spending capacity” and for Pompeii “a norm to facilitate sponsorships” (never seen), a generic "I will also focus on the non-profit third sector and businesses for culture"3: in short, a “Roosevelt plan of culture,” as he called it at the time. It is a pity, however, that there are no big traces left of this Roosevelt plan in Italian culture.
Giancarlo Galan is also remembered for a famous measure, concrete (indeed... far too concrete!): an article in Il Giornale dell’Arte that came out in the paper edition of the newspaper in July 2011, made it known that “among the experts chosen by Galan as personal advisers” also included Marino Massimo De Caro (“already with Galan at Agriculture for bioenergy,” the newspaper pointed out)4. There is no need to recall who Marino Massimo De Caro is, who would later be appointed (though not by Galan, who did not even ratify the appointment) director of the Girolamini Library: one only needs to Google a bit to get a well-defined idea. And although Galan declared himself “embittered” by the looting of the Girolamini Library and felt "all the moral responsibility of having elected De Caro to such a delicate position,"5 the fact that he appointed De Caro as his advisor probably not because of any particular professional or scientific qualifications (as can be inferred from his resume), but because he was referred to him by Marcello Dell’Utri6 certainly does not play in his favor. And on all this, Tomaso Montanari has already expressed himself just three days ago in his blog on Fatto Quotidiano7. Montanari, however, was just in time to miss Giancarlo Galan’s first statements as chairman of the Culture Commission.
Given the premise, who feels like commenting?
The author of this article: Federico Giannini
Nato a Massa nel 1986, si è laureato nel 2010 in Informatica Umanistica all’Università di Pisa. Nel 2009 ha iniziato a lavorare nel settore della comunicazione su web, con particolare riferimento alla comunicazione per i beni culturali. Nel 2017 ha fondato con Ilaria Baratta la rivista Finestre sull’Arte. Dalla fondazione è direttore responsabile della rivista. Nel 2025 ha scritto il libro Vero, Falso, Fake. Credenze, errori e falsità nel mondo dell'arte (Giunti editore). Collabora e ha collaborato con diverse riviste, tra cui Art e Dossier e Left, e per la televisione è stato autore del documentario Le mani dell’arte (Rai 5) ed è stato tra i presentatori del programma Dorian – L’arte non invecchia (Rai 5). Al suo attivo anche docenze in materia di giornalismo culturale all'Università di Genova e all'Ordine dei Giornalisti, inoltre partecipa regolarmente come relatore e moderatore su temi di arte e cultura a numerosi convegni (tra gli altri: Lu.Bec. Lucca Beni Culturali, Ro.Me Exhibition, Con-Vivere Festival, TTG Travel Experience).
Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.
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