Membership registration is now openfor the National Association of Art Historians (AStArte), a new non-profit, nonpartisan, and non-denominational professional organization established to represent and promote the profession of art historians in Italy pursuant to Law No. 4 of January 14, 2013, No. 4 on unregulated professions.
The association was founded on April 28, 2026, and officially presented on May 22 in Palermo, at Villa Zito, the headquarters of the Fondazione Sicilia. The occasion was the conference “The National Association of Art Historians (AStArte) Is Born: Specialists in Dialogue, ” curated by Silvia Mazza (read our interview here), the project’s creator and president of the association.
AStArte was founded with the stated goal of filling a gap in the Italian system of cultural professions, namely the absence of a national association of art historians recognized by the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy pursuant to Law 4/2013. This recognition allows the association to represent the profession in dealings with third parties and in institutional settings.
Among the stated objectives is also the ability to establish agreements and memoranda of understanding with auction houses, the Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage (Carabinieri TPC), and other public and private entities that require specialized expertise in various fields of art history. With this in mind, the association aims to serve as a point of reference for managing requests for specialized consultation from institutions and industry professionals.
The membership system includes several categories of members. Founding members are scholars and distinguished figures who contributed to the establishment of the association. Ordinary members are art historians who hold the qualifications specified in Ministerial Decree 244/2019, Annex 7, paragraphs 1.3 and 2.3. Participating members meet the requirements set forth in the same regulation (Ministerial Decree 244/2019, Annex 7, paragraph 3.3), while student members include those enrolled in relevant degree programs. There is also a category of honorary members, granted to scholars and prominent figures who have distinguished themselves in the promotion of the arts and related professions.
The first three categories correspond to the categories set forth in the Ministry of Culture’s lists of professionals. Membership in the association does not require prior inclusion in those lists. In fact, AStArte may issue a certificate attesting to the fulfillment of the requirements necessary for potential inclusion in the national lists.
In terms of fees, annual membership dues are set at 40 euros for ordinary members, reduced to 20 euros for the year 2026 only. For participating members, the fee is 30 euros, reduced to 15 euros in the first year. For student members, the fee is set at 20 euros, reduced to 10 euros in 2026. Membership is valid from January 1 through December 31 of each year.
Membership benefits include participation in events organized by the association; payment can be made via bank transfer after requesting the form by email at astarte.storicidellarte@gmail.com, or online registration, which is currently being set up on the website https://storicidellarte.org, which is still under construction.
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| Registration is now open for AStArte, a new national association of art historians |
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