Art as a Medical Prescription: Health and Culture Sign a Memorandum of Understanding


Museums, exhibitions, and cultural activities could become part of treatment plans: a memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Culture has launched studies with one million euros in funding.

Art could become part of medical prescriptions in the future. This was reported byANSA, which covered the news of the protocol signed by the Ministry of Healthand the Ministry of Culture, presented yesterday at the Foreign Press Center in Rome. The agreement launches a study on the effects of engaging with art on health, supported by one million eurosin funding fr s (as reported by the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Culture, Lucia Borgonzoni) and the upcoming establishment of a Scientific Committee.

According to studies, engaging with art is in fact associated with a reduction of about 4% in the risk of biological aging and a decrease in cortisol, the stress hormone. Visiting museums and exhibitions also encourages physical activity, getting out of the house, and socializing. The goal—following the model of social prescriptions related to sports—is to move toward prescribing cultural activities. At the same time, CoopCulture and the Gemelli-Isola Tiberina Hospital have signed a memorandum of understanding to integrate cultural experiences into patients’ treatment plans.

“Today at the Foreign Press Association to present the agreement between the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Health, signed with the goal of implementing ‘cultural prescriptions,’” wrote Lucia Borgonzoni, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Culture, on her Facebook page. “This is an issue I’ve been championing since 2018, and today it’s becoming a concrete initiative, with one million euros allocated and a Scientific Committee on the way. The data show that visiting museums and exhibitions reduces stress, lowers the risk of biological aging, and improves the well-being of those living with neurodegenerative diseases.”

Sandro Botticelli, The Birth of Venus (c. 1485; tempera on canvas, 172.5 x 278.5 cm; Florence, Uffizi Galleries, inv. 1890 no. 878)
Sandro Botticelli, The Birth of Venus (c. 1485; tempera on canvas, 172.5 x 278.5 cm; Florence, Uffizi Galleries, inv. 1890 no. 878)

Art as a Medical Prescription: Health and Culture Sign a Memorandum of Understanding
Art as a Medical Prescription: Health and Culture Sign a Memorandum of Understanding



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