by Redazione 14/10/2026

AStArte, SISCA, Legambiente, ANA, and CUNSTA are calling on the Sicilian Regional Government to update the Professional Matrix before launching the large-scale competitive exam and to recognize the qualifications of officials already on staff.

The Sicilian Region must update its Professional Matrix before launching any large-scale competitive hiring process in the cultural heritage sector, ensuring it includes all the specialized roles necessary for the protection of cultural heritage. This is the joint requestfrom the National Association of Art Historians (AStArte),the Italian Association of the History of Art Criticism ETS (SISCA), Legambiente,the National Association of Archaeologists (ANA), and the National University Council for the History of Art (CUNSTA). The organizations also emphasize the need to evaluate career paths for current civil servants, including the winners of the competitive exam for technical managers held in 2000.

This statement comes following the announcement, at the end of the summer, of a competitive exam for up to 200 positions, intended to address the severe staff shortage in the Department of Cultural Heritage and Sicilian Identity. This situation has been exacerbated by the prolonged hiring freeze resulting from the agreement between the State and the Region. The last round of competitive exams in the sector took place 26 years ago. The recent theft of works by Antonello da Messina has refocused public attention on the urgent need to protect Sicily’s cultural heritage, but the process toward reopening competitive exams had already begun in the preceding months.

Last July, AStArte had partnered with SISCA and Legambiente to highlight the absence of the “art historian” category in the new Regional Professional Classification System, despite the high level of specialization required for the protection and promotion of historical and artistic heritage. The initiative led to an official meeting with the regional departments of Local Government, Public Administration, and Cultural Heritage and Sicilian Identity.

Agrigento, Valley of the Temples. Photo: Dario Crisafulli

“Without this corrective measure,” emphasizes Silvia Mazza, president of AStArte, “it is not possible to properly plan any large-scale competitive hiring process. Competitive hiring procedures must, in fact, be preceded by an actual assessment of the needs of regional cultural institutions and, consequently, by a clear identification of the required profiles. Among these, art historians, archaeologists, archivists, librarians, demo-ethno-anthropologists, physical anthropologists, conservators and assistant conservators of cultural heritage, diagnostic experts, and professionals in the sciences and technologies applied to cultural heritage, in addition to licensed professionals—such as architects and engineers—who have historically been part of the Department’s organizational structure.”

The Regional Councilor for Cultural Heritage and Sicilian Identity, Francesco Scarpinato, also recently emphasized the need to conduct a “specific study to quantify the sector’s actual needs” and to initiate a dialogue with the national government.

Hence the request to include in the review archaeologists, librarians, archivists, conservators, architects, engineers, and all other professionals essential to addressing staffing shortages. AStArte, SISCA, Legambiente, ANA, and CUNSTA state their intention to continue collaborating with the institutions, making their expertise available to ensure that competitive examinations are designed to meet the needs of cultural heritage preservation.

Finally, the associations call for addressing the situation of highly qualified officials who passed the 2000 competitive examination for technical managers and who, despite holding advanced degrees and specializations—including doctorates—remain classified in professional and salary grades that do not fully correspond to the skills and responsibilities they have acquired. In light of a possible selection process for managerial positions, they therefore urge the regional administration to identify concrete measures for the career advancement of current staff.

“It is necessary,” the associations conclude, “that the new round of competitive exams not only serve as an opportunity to fill staffing gaps but also mark the beginning of a comprehensive reorganization of the regional cultural heritage system, based on the recognition of specialized expertise, the promotion of current staff, and transparent planning of staffing needs. Only in this way will it be possible to truly strengthen the protection of Sicily’s cultural heritage.”

The document is signed by Silvia Mazza, president of AStArte; Ilaria Miarelli Mariani, on behalf of CUNSTA; Massimiliano Rossi, on behalf of SISCA; Marcella Giorgio, on behalf of ANA; Gianfranco Zanna, national director of Cultural Heritage at Legambiente; and Tommaso Castronovo, president of Legambiente Sicilia.

Sicily: Organizations Call for New Professional Roles in Cultural Heritage

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