There is controversy between Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli and Corriere della Sera. It all stems from an editorial by Ernesto Galli della Loggia published in the via Solferino newspaper last Friday, and in which the journalist accused the governing right wing of not having done anything relevant for culture yet and of often limiting itself only to occupying posts. Giuli published, on his Facebook profile, a couple of posts in which he reported that the newspaper first asked him for a rebuttal to the editorial (which he called “venomous”), and then for a full-length interview starting precisely from the editorial. The interview, with journalist Paolo Conti, has not yet been published (according to Giuli it would have been, his term, “censored”), but the minister shared it on his social channels. In the conversation, Giuli first retorts to Della Loggia (“time wasters insinuate that the right-wing’s efforts are focused on chairs, we meanwhile achieve results,” and also says he expects him to leave his role at the Council of National Committees), after which he moves on to answer questions on various issues, including autonomous museums, saying he is not satisfied with the commission’s proposed thirds.
“The trios of candidates for the most important first-tier museums have arrived,” he said. “With full respect for the professional value of the names proposed, I am dissatisfied with the work of the committee. I will consider whether to reopen the call, at the same time as holding the one for the second-tier museums, in order to have a complete picture and unquestionable value of the top executives, whether national or international.” Currently, there are five first-tier museums awaiting a new director: the Royal Museums of Turin, the Galleria dell’Accademia in Florence-Musei del Bargello, the Archaeological Park of the Colosseum, the National Roman Museum, and the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, which have currently been directed on an interim basis for several months. The trios have not yet been published, but the names of the ten “finalists” for each museum are known: the lists include the names of several former directors of major museums, superintendents, and managers. What is certain is that the reopening of the call for nominations could lead to further delays in the appointments of five of the country’s most relevant museums that have been without a permanent guide for some time (and the competition process began last March).
The commission, which consists of Elena Tassi, Caterina Cittadino, Cécile Evers, Raffaella Saporito and Alessandro Zuccari, began interviewing candidates last July 7 at the Ministry of Culture headquarters and finished on the 11th. Candidates who had to take the exam included some current directors of autonomous museums, such as Luigi Gallo (Galleria Nazionale delle Marche), Simone Quilici (Parco Archeologico dell’Appia Antica), Francesco Sirano (Ercolano), Mario Epifani (Palazzo Reale in Naples), Tiziana Maffei (Reggia di Caserta), as well as former directors such as Paola D’Agostino (Musei del Bargello), Flaminia Gennari Santori (Gallerie Nazionali d’Arte Antica), Martina Bagnoli (Gallerie Estensi), and prominent figures such as Serena Bertolucci, director of M9 in Mestre. At the moment, however, it is not known which names have emerged from the orals.
Meanwhile, the Corriere della Sera lets it be known that the newspaper “had asked ten days ago for an interview on all the events that had affected his ministry (from Cinecittà to the conflict with Undersecretary Bergonzoni), an interview that the minister postponed until yesterday morning when he gave his availability.” In the rebuttal, the newspaper ironically criticized the minister’s reaction to the editorial (“The minister’s reaction was of the following tenor: Prof. Della Loggia has a cultural assignment established by my predecessor Sangiuliano and after criticism he must resign. A truly liberal attitude”), and harshly disputes in substance and form some of the statements: “His remarks were then peppered with falsehoods (’luxury assignment’ while the professor’s tenure as head of the Council of Cultural Committees is free of charge) and insults: ’time waster,’ ’waiter’ (we have great respect for all workers, the minister on the other hand does not seem to think so and uses the quote containing the word ’waiter’ to offend).” The Courier also makes it known that the management had offered Giuli the opportunity to respond to the editorial with an article, but the minister reportedly refused: “No censorship, he was only interested in ’firing’ the professor who dared to make criticisms. When he wants we are fully available for publication.” Reply, finally, also from journalist Paolo Conti: “The exchange of messages published by Minister Giuli took place with me in a normal dialectic between journalist and interviewee of which the Directorate was totally unaware. I remain astonished by the choice of a minister to publish private messages.”
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| Giuli: "Not satisfied with the director's threes." And plans to reopen the call for applications |
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