Rebranding Italian Museums : the view from within (original) (raw)
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In 2004 two well-known economists of culture, Michele Trimarchi and Pierluigi Sacco, presented an essay entitled “'The Invisible Museum”' . Today the situation in Italy has been completely revolutionized. Museums are no longer offices and they are literally stormed by visitors. In 2015, with the appointment of the first directors of autonomous museums, the media system in the summer was more interested in museum directors than in footballers and their summer flirts. The average growth rate of museum participation is 7.3%, while the growth rate of tourism is around 4%. Never before have we experienced such a manifestation of people's trust towards museums. This reform has operated top down, because any other approach is unconceivable in Italy . The reform of museums implemented with the 2014 legislation, has achieved what outstanding parliamentary study commissions and ICOM International have recommended since 1960: to recognize the status of institution to Italian state museums. With a clear identification of fundamental responsibilities: a museum director is the custodian and interpreter of the museum's identity and mission, in compliance with the Ministry's guidelines. A director is responsible for the cultural and scientific project. Autonomous museums were finally established in 2015 with a director in charge, a budget, a governing body that can finally have accountability, a social recount of how they spend and how their spending can affect the development of society.
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