Maria Rita Cerilli, head of the Communications Department at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, has passed away at the age of just 46. Having been ill for about a year and a half, Cerilli was a leading figure in Italian museum communications and had worked at the Venetian institution for nearly twenty years , where she had built her entire career.
A native of La Spezia, born in 1980, Maria Rita Cerilli began her career at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in 2007 as an intern. That start, which marked the first step in her career in the museum sector, would evolve over the years into a long journey of professional growth within the museum, culminating in her appointment in 2022 as Head of the Communications Department—a role from which she coordinated the Collection’s communications activities.
Over the course of nearly two decades, she has accompanied the evolution of the Venetian museum, contributing to the development of its public image and media relations, and becoming a point of reference for journalists, cultural institutions, and colleagues in the field.
The news of her passing was announced by the Peggy Guggenheim Collection itself, which honored her with a message posted on its official channels: “There are people who leave a lasting mark, both in their work and in the lives of those they meet. Maria Rita Cerilli was one of them. A colleague, friend, and extraordinary professional in the field of cultural communication, she dedicated nearly twenty years to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, contributing her expertise, dedication, and sensitivity to its growth and narrative. Her talent, generosity, and vision have left a legacy that will continue to live on in the museum’s daily work, in the people she mentored, and in the relationships she built with intelligence, care, and humanity.”
Her career exemplifies a path of professional growth forged entirely within one of Italy’s leading museums dedicated to 20th-century art. From her start in 2007 through her tenure as head of the Communications Department, Cerilli experienced the various stages of development of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection and contributed substantially to the promotion of exhibitions, cultural activities, and the museum’s public identity—a museum that has become a leading institution for modern art in Italy, thanks in part to Cerilli’s work.
She was well-known and highly regarded even beyond the Venetian Collection. Over the years, she had established collaborative relationships with numerous communications professionals, journalists, and cultural practitioners, distinguishing herself through her approachability, expertise, and attention to interpersonal relationships.
With her passing, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection loses a professional who guided the museum’s communications for nearly twenty years, helping to showcase its activities and consolidate its role in the national and international cultural landscape. The tribute from the Venetian institution paints a portrait of a woman who knew how to combine professional rigor, sensitivity, and the ability to build relationships—and who left a lasting mark on the museum’s history.
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| Farewell to Maria Rita Cerilli, Head of Communications at the Guggenheim Collection in Venice |
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