Sienese Museums Foundation launches "Culture doesn't age" project designed for senior citizens

Population aging is one of the most discussed social issues of our century, impacting many areas of daily life, from health care to culture. In Italy, a country with one of the oldest populations in Europe, the issue of the well-being of the over-70s has become a topic of growing interest and attention. Responses to this phenomenon range from physical to social and cognitive care, increasingly including innovative solutions that can improve the quality of life, stimulating inclusion and active participation of older people. Among these responses, museums are emerging as privileged places of well-being, through activities that stimulate the mind, promote socialization and enrich individual and collective cultural heritage. An example of this trend is the project Culture Does Not Age, which is being developed in Siena’s museums. The project, promoted by the Sienese Museums Foundation, aims to enhance museums as places of aggregation and well-being for the elderly population, through a series of activities that, in addition to stimulating cognition, also promote encounters and socialization among people. In a cultural welfare context, museums thus become instruments of social inclusion and promotion of mental and physical health, responding to a growing need to give space and attention to the over-70s.

The Culture Doesn’t Age project is being developed in 10 museums in the province of Siena and involves groups of people over 70 in a series of activities and workshops designed specifically to meet the needs of this age group. Properly trained museum workers guide participants in stimulating cultural experiences that reflect on the local heritage and memories that Siena’s museums hold. It is not about enjoying works of art, but an active journey that invites seniors to express their creativity, participating directly in culture. In this way, the project fits into the paradigm of social prescription or social prescription, which encourages access to culture as a form of care and improvement of the quality of life. The value of this initiative lies not only in the immediate activities it proposes, but also in the relationships it comes to create in the local area. Indeed, museums become the starting point for a system of relationships between the community, cultural institutions and local associations, contributing to the creation of a cultural ecosystem. The term, used by the promoters of the project, designates a network of exchanges and collaborations that enriches cultural offerings and makes them accessible to all, without distinction.

“Culture doesn’t age is a project we care a lot about,” says Carolina Taddei, FMS coordinator, “because, by fostering socialization, relationships and confrontation, it is able to promote the well-being of people over 70; museums thus take on a central role as community hubs and meeting places. Our museums have responded with great enthusiasm and so have the associations involved. We are proud that this project intercepted funding from Fondazione CDP and we are equally proud because it was the occasion to start the mobility partnership with Autolinee Toscane for a common commitment to sustainability. FMS thus confirms itself as a collector among the energies of the area for the benefit of communities.”

“We are delighted to be able to collaborate with the Fondazione Musei Senesi,” adds Filippo Giustarini, service manager of at’s Siena operations office, “in the development of this project that marries issues that are also dear to us at Autolinee Toscane. Public mobility, sustainability, territory and culture, are issues that are very close to our hearts: we are therefore honored to be the means through which participants will be able to get around and contribute to their well-being.”

“The collaboration between FMS and Auser for the conception and development of this project,” says Anna Maria Guiducci, president of the Siena territorial Auser, “is confirmed as a trump card in the concept of active aging. The concept of the museum as a place predisposed to this function affirms the need for a cultural development that increasingly favors a knowledge of the articulated museum collections of the Fondazione Musei Senesi, which are heterogeneous and particularly suited to stimulate the search for knowledge that seems to emerge, with increasing need, for this segment of the population, removing it from the risk of loneliness, lack of interests and increasing vivacity of thought and desire for knowledge. Since the first workshops, the enthusiasm of the participants confirms to us that this is the right way: all of them have satisfied, in addition to the desire to deepen the contact and a mode for them unprecedented with the various and museum realities, the desire for different approach to the reading of the collections managed within a correct disclosure, on the level of content and fruition.”

Collaboration with CDP Foundation and other local entities

The project has received significant funding from the CDP Foundation through the Cultural Ecosystems call, which supports initiatives aimed at enhancing cultural heritage in territories with lower population density. In this way, Culture does not age not only promotes the well-being of the elderly, but also contributes to the revitalization of the Sienese territory by bringing culture to local communities.

The realization of the project took place thanks to the collaboration with several local entities, including the Auser of Siena and the associations La lunga gioventù and Centro Socioculturale “Antonio Conti,” which have been working for years in the field of supporting the elderly.

The partnership with Autolinee Toscane

An innovative element of The Culture Does Not Age is the partnership with Autolinee Toscane, which has made its vehicles available for the transportation of groups participating in the museum workshops. This aspect, which may seem minor, is instead of great importance. Sustainable mobility is a crucial issue for social inclusion, as many older people live in rural or remote areas, far from cultural centers. Through this collaboration, participants can easily reach museums and participate in activities without having to worry about logistical difficulties.

In addition, shared transportation helps promote a sustainable mobility model, which enhances the collective use of vehicles and reduces environmental impact. Another positive aspect of this collaboration is the possibility of creating a synergy between culture and sustainability, two areas that, if united, can lead to mutual enrichment and greater social cohesion. Culture does not age represents a model of cultural welfare that can also be exported to other areas, both in Italy and abroad. The project also aims to create broader and lasting change in the community. Every activity, every workshop, every encounter between people is a step toward building an inclusive and participatory culture. Sienese museums, through this initiative, become centers of cultural and social aggregation that help improve the quality of life of older people and build stronger relationships among people.

“Culture doesn’t age”: numbers and details

The “Culture Doesn’t Age” project targets people with specific relational and social needs. Adopting a social prescription approach, in which local communities are responsible for promoting practices for sustainable well-being, the initiative aims to:

• Promote the well-being and improve the quality of life of people over 70 through engaging and meaningful museum activities;

• Stimulate socialization, relationship and discussion, including through the sharing of memories and personal stories;

• Support the memory and cognitive abilities of the elderly through the museum experience, although these are recreational-cultural and not therapeutic activities;

• Raising awareness among museum workers about the importance of designing activities suitable for older people;

• Foster intergenerational and intercultural dialogue.

The workshops are intended for people over 70, divided into groups of up to 12 participants each. Local associations involved in active aging, such as Auser Territorial Siena, the Sociocultural Center “Antonio Conti” and La lunga Gioventù aps - Socio-Cultural Center for the Elderly, are involved in the initiative.

The 10 museums participating in the project, spread throughout the province of Siena, are: MAM - Archaeological Museum of Monteriggioni (Abbadia a Isola), Palazzo Corboli in Asciano, Museum of Sacred Art of the Val d’Arbia in Buonconvento, Museo del Paesaggio in Castelnuovo Berardenga, San Giovanni Art Room in Castiglione d’Orcia, Archaeological Nature Park and Archaeodrome of Belverde in Cetona, Museo Te.Po.Tra.Tos. Scenes from the Tuscan Traditional Folk Theater in Monticchiello, Archaeological Museum of Poggio Civitate in Murlo, Natural History Museum of the Accademia dei Fisiocritici in Siena, Stanze della Memoria - Historical Route of the Resistance in Siena.

CDP Foundation’s commitment

The Cultural Ecosystems call for proposals, supported by Fondazione CDP, aims to promote initiatives to enhance cultural heritage and landscapes in municipalities with less than 100,000 inhabitants. Launched in July 2023, the call has involved national and international NGOs, NPOs, associations and cooperatives, all of which are committed to presenting innovative proposals capable of enhancing cultural heritage through visual, digital, performance and literary art forms. With a ceiling of 1.2 million euros, Fondazione CDP funded 10 projects, distributed in 10 Italian regions: Liguria, Piedmont, Veneto, Campania, Basilicata, Puglia, Tuscany, Lazio, Sicily and Calabria.

Sienese Museums Foundation launches "Culture doesn't age" project designed for senior citizens

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