Abolition of free Sundays, almost all directors agree. Let's summarize the situation

Much confusion has been generated around the decision of Cultural Heritage Minister Alberto Bonisoli to abolish free Sundays at museums. Indeed, the minister’s lack of clarity, who did not indicate a certain date and left it up to individual directors to decide whether or not to let #domenicalmuseo continue (but, barring unlikely last-minute second thoughts, it is certain that the initiative will no longer exist at the national level), and certain thoughtless interventions by some members of the majority, such as the 5 Stelle Movement’s Undersecretary for Public Administration Mattia Fantinati who, signing an article in Il Fatto Quotidiano, branded as “fake news” the news of the abolition of free Sundays. In fact, it is not fake news, since it was Bonisoli himself who declared, in a note published on the MiBAC website, that the minister and museum directors are “moving towards the decision to go beyond free Sundays, which will in fact be abolished.”

Given, therefore, the lack of clarity and the flare-up of fierce controversy, the minister was forced to provide further clarification, claiming that there will be initiatives aimed at increasing free admission, differentiated “by days of the week, by season, by type, by time slot” (but at the moment there is no program in this regard), and in his aid has also intervened the undersecretary for cultural heritage, Gianluca Vacca (M5S), who specified that “the Ministry is working on new formulas aimed at increasing the number of free days on which to visit museums and cultural sites throughout Italy. The aim is to return to all citizens the beauty of our artistic and archaeological heritage. An intervention that will be studied on the basis of the interests of the territory and seasonality so as to ensure the best possible enjoyment.”

This, so far, is all that is known. To sum up: free Sundays on the first of the month, for all state museums, will no longer exist. They have been abolished nationwide. However, it will be up to the directors to determine whether, in individual museums, the initiative can continue, on the first Sunday of the month or on other days. However, a great many directors have welcomed Bonisoli’s idea. Eike D. Schmidt (Uffizi, Florence) told Repubblica, “I think this initiative has lost, gradually, its meaning. In the first two years, it actually served to bring people back to the museums, citizens especially, who had not visited them for years. As time went on, however, we realized that those who use it are now the same tourists who would pay the ticket anyway.” Schmidt’s idea is to replace free Sundays with “different and more modulated initiatives that can recover their initial spirit, encouraging citizen participation.” Also in favor of the abolition is Mauro Felicori (Reggia di Caserta), who speaking to Il Fatto Quotidiano said he was “happy that there is an adaptation to different situations precisely starting from the experience of Caserta, where we have a high season that is in the spring, when we reach the saturation ceiling of the number of visitors, beyond which the safety of people and the architectural asset is jeopardized,” and added: “this ceiling we already reach on Sundays when we pay, so on free admission days, inviting more people to the Reggia means drawing them back to a place they will probably not be able to see.”

Similar positions, for a reshaping of the free offer without the obligation of guaranteeing free admission on the first Sunday of the month, were expressed by Anna Coliva (Galleria Borghese, Rome), who called the minister’s proposal “sensible,” Serena Bertolucci (Palazzo Reale, Genoa), who instead proposes “free hour every day,” Peter Aufreiter (Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, Urbino), according to whom Bonisoli’s proposal opens up for “greater flexibility”, Cecilie Hollberg (Galleria dell’Accademia, Florence), who declared herself in favor of abolishing #domenicalmuseo especially in the most popular museums, where flows become very difficult to manage, Gabriel Zuchtriegel (Archaeological Park of Paestum), according to whom the abolition of free Sundays is a benefit for individual museums. For now, the only director who has confirmed the continuation of free Sundays is Paolo Giulierini of the National Archaeological Museum in Naples, who speaking to Repubblica said that “in September there will certainly be free admission Sundays, which will be repeated in the coming months as well: we believe that the idea has been effective, so much so that today it is a must for many visitors.”

But there are not only museum directors who support Bonisoli’s choice. ANGT tour guides, who rated the idea of suspending the free admissions set on the first Sunday of the month as “very positive,” also declared themselves in favor. The autonomous union CONFSAL-UNSA also approves of the abolition of free Sundays. Now it will be necessary to wait to see when the cancellation will take effect, and whether there will be new initiatives, for which, however, no communication has been given at the moment.

Pictured: Giacomo Zaganelli, Grand Tourismo (2018), a project shot on an ordinary opening Sunday at the Uffizi.

Abolition of free Sundays, almost all directors agree. Let's summarize the situation

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.