Spoleto, controversy over appointment of young Saverio Verini as director of Civic Museums

There is controversy surrounding the appointment of the new director of Spoleto’s civic museums : it is the young Saverio Verini, born in 1985 in Città di Castello, who will succeed Marco Tonelli at the helm of the contemporary art center in Palazzo Collicola and will also take over the direction of the other museums of the forming Sistema Museale di Spoleto and which will include Museo del Tessuto, Casa Romana, Museo di scienze del territorio, Museo delle miniere, and Santi Giovanni e Paolo church. The municipality had published the notice for the new director at the beginning of the year: Verini was selected by a commission composed of Luca Gammaitoni, professor of physics at the University of Perugia, chair of the commission; Luca Lo Pinto, director of MACRO in Rome; and Rosaria Mencarelli, superintendent of Abruzzo. Verini prevailed over six other contenders. He will receive a salary of 25,000 euros, plus another 2,000 for expense reimbursements, and will have a three-year term of office, starting from the publication of the act of appointment on the municipal bulletin board.

Saverio Verini graduated in Contemporary Art History from La Sapienza University, and began working in 2011-2012 at MACRO in Rome, then from 2013 to 2015 he was assistant curator at Fondazione Ermanno Casoli, in the Marche region, and since February 2017 he has been in charge of exhibition coordination at Fondazione Memmo in Rome. He has to his credit collaborations with cultural institutions such as the French Academy in Rome at Villa Medici, the Luigi Pecci Center for Contemporary Art, the American Academy in Rome, and the Pastificio Cerere Foundation. In addition, from 2011 to 2016 he was curator of the visual arts section of Kilowatt Festival, in Sansepolcro. He is then among the founders of the curatorial collective Sguardo Contemporaneo and the association Il Fondino, with which he has organized numerous cultural initiatives characterized by a strong participatory attitude.

Verini’s appointment, as anticipated, was, however, accompanied by strong controversy raised by the League of Spoleto via social: the leghists, pointing out the fact that Verini is the son of Walter Verini, a member of the Umbrian parliament of the Pd, dispute formal flaws on the procedure. Indeed, it seems that the procedure is still ongoing, and this despite the fact that Verini’s name has already begun to circulate in local and national newspapers as the winner of the competition.

“A truly incredible and embarrassing story,” says Filippo Piccioni of the League. “We learned that the post, although with a competition and although, according to the alderman, the commission had not completed its work, had already been designated for such Saverio Verini, son of the well-known Executive and Pd senator Walter Verini. Smelling something burning, we pointed out that the city would never accept yet another name dropped from above at the expense of the quality of such an important service, and we still asked for clarification from the alderman, who stated the next day that he was not aware of the names of the candidates and, unfortunately, had no competence to care about such a matter. [...] In the following days Verini’s name came out in the newspapers as the winner of the announcement and, therefore, as super director, even receiving congratulations from the festival director Monique Veaute.” The League, Piccioni explained, made a request for access to the records in order to know the curricula of the candidates: “Not having obtained what we had requested,” continued the leghist exponent, “we wanted feedback in written form, receiving, however, the same answer that had been given to us orally, that is, that the Secretary General confirms that the manager deferred the delivery of the curriculum of the minutes to the end of the proceedings. This is absolutely not in accordance with the administrative rules. The question comes up, how can the winner come out publicly, in the newspapers and major art magazines, if there is no record and if the proceedings are not concluded? How can it receive the compliments of the Festival Director (by the way, wife of the Pd executive and former Congressman Causi) without an official nomination? How can Verini’s name have been chosen, which highlights profound criticalities with respect to the indications of the l’ex specialis dictated in the announcement? Is it right for the mayor, concerned about all this, to request an office review of the resumes after the name has already come out? The answer to all this is obvious, almost obvious, to everyone but them.”

It was just a few hours ago that Mayor Andrea Sisti instructed manager Roberta Farinelli “to check,” said the first citizen, “all the documentation related to the choice of the new director before closing the file.” League officials are satisfied with the mayor’s decision: it will be necessary to shed light on the case.

In the photo: Saverio Verini

Spoleto, controversy over appointment of young Saverio Verini as director of Civic Museums

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.