This week, Culture Minister Dario Franceschini presented the MIBACT (Ministero dei Beni Culturali), his plan to change the way the Italian cultural heritage is managed through a radical restructuring of the organisational model.
According to the Minister and his team, the administration will be streamlined in order to become more efficient and less costly through the modernization and simplification of its centralised structure and special emphasis will be put on the integration between culture and tourism.
Two of the most obvious changes regard the way museums' directors will be selected, they will be external experts who are not part of the state administration, and the government department responsible for history of art will be merged with the one responsible for architecture.
According to Franceschini, there are at least five main issues to tackle: the lack of integration between culture and tourism, the overly complicated lines of command, the congestion of the central administration, the chronic lack of autonomy of the museums, the delay in policies innovation and training.
At the core of the proposal:
- Twenty Italian museums of national interest will be given full managerial and financial autonomy with a transparent public selection leading to the best qualified directors;
- The development of innovative policies and training;
- The promotion of contemporary art;
- The simplification of procedures and decision making processes to reduce disputes between the central management of the Italian Heritage and the individual museums and regional offices;
- The reduction of the number of senior management positions.
"This is not small change," Minister Franceschini said. "Italians have come to expect from this government major reforms and the reorganization of the Ministero dei Beni Culturali is a great revolution that will enable us to invest in the incredible cultural heritage that we possess."
The big question is: will this plan manage to save and infuse new life into Italy's Great Beauty?
The debate in Italy has just began and we will keep you posted on all future developments.
