Taranto's National Archaeological Museum lacks staff? So 40 volunteers arrive

The news is sure to cause controversy: the National Archaeological Museum of Taranto (MArTa), one of the thirty autonomous museums created under the Franceschini reform and one of the most important archaeological museums in Italy, has decided to avail itself of the services of as many as forty volunteers from the Touring Club Italiano (TCI), who will be on duty at the museum in pairs on double daily shifts. The institute has been battling staff shortages for some time, which have forced the museum to limit fruition: a month ago, Pentastellata deputy Rosalba De Giorgi had even moved a question to the minister of cultural heritage, Alberto Bonisoli, to reiterate how the museum’s endowment is greatly underestimated, since at least 15 more resources would be needed, and how the problems of staff shortages at MArTa are long-standing.

As a result, it is likely that the museum wanted to remedy this by relying on TCI volunteers. The director, Eva Degl’Innocenti, assured at a press conference, as reported by the local newspaper Corriere di Taranto, that the volunteers “are not here to compensate for the lack of staff, but to offer their support, so the problem of staff shortage remains and for the moment it is not solved, but it is persistent.” The volunteers, continued Eva Degl’Innocenti, “will give important support to the reception and especially to our staff, which remains the custodian of all those professional functions, more vigilance and security, that the volunteers will not perform, because it is not in their role.” Yet, the official TCI website points out that the collaboration between TCI and MArTa is part of the “Open for You” initiative, which aims to “welcome visitors to art sites that are otherwise inaccessible to the public or open with severe time restrictions”: so it comes natural to think that the volunteers have been welcomed not simply to lend a hand, but to prevent them from intervening in the normal opening of the museum.

And if the volunteers will not be in charge of either vigilance or security, one wonders what exactly their job description will be inside the museum. The TCI website again comes to the rescue, where it is specified that the volunteers will act as “cultural facilitators”: that is, “they will also be dedicated to welcoming visitors by providing them with appropriate information.” It is not known, however, what kind of information they will provide to the public (and it is worth remembering how welcoming also requires specific professional profiles).

Meanwhile, the director makes a new appeal to MiBAC to “give pragmatic answers to buffer the situation, because it is difficult to work under these conditions, because the staff is forced to make sacrifices.” The volunteers, meanwhile, will serve for a while: again at the press conference, Eva Degl’Innocenti said that “we have given ourselves a deadline of the end of the year to test this project and then we will draw conclusions.” In short: throughout 2019, those visiting the MArTa could be greeted by volunteer staff.

Pictured: a room in the MArTa. Ph. Credit Berthold Werner

Taranto's National Archaeological Museum lacks staff? So 40 volunteers arrive

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