"This is why the National Museum in Chieti remains closed." Regional director speaks

The acting director of the Abruzzo Regional Directorate of Museums, Mariastella Margozzi, issued a statement today on the prolonged closure of the National Archaeological Museum “La Civitella” in Chieti. Our headline had broken the news of the closure on Feb. 6 by reporting the statements of former MiBACT official Adele Campanelli and had then returned to the subject on Feb. 8 to reiterate the temporary nature of the stop and better frame the issues that led to the current situation. Today, Director Margozzi communicated the reasons why it has come to this point (although the note does not speak of closure, but of “postponed reopening to the public”: in fact, the Theatine museum, like all museums, was closed due to Covid, and has not been reopened). There are two in particular: the lack of staff and the condition of the halls.

“There is certainly no need to remind us,” Margozzi premised in the statement, “that the Museums were closed due to the pandemic in most parts of Italy until last February 1, and that, with not a few difficulties due to staff shortages, almost all of them were reopened. Therefore, the La Civitella Museum did not suddenly close to the public, as has been alleged, but if anything it did not reopen immediately.”

“The reasons,” Margozzi explains, “are both the lack of staff, which is being addressed also by asking for the collaboration of the Municipality of Chieti, and the condition of the lighting systems and in general the suboptimal conditions of the rooms, subject to localized water infiltration that is being addressed. There are other technical problems, which require adjustment and restoration work.”

The note does not specify what the technical problems in question are: however, on the whole, the above reasons “have led the Regional Directorate,” Margozzi continues, “to consider taking advantage of this period of pandemic emergency to start the work necessary for restoration. If the Museum has remained closed, it is certainly not because of the Administration’s starvation, but rather to restore to the structure the decorum and dignity of one of Abruzzo’s most interesting and beloved Museums, unfortunately not in optimal condition for some time.”

“Remembering, if there was any need,” Margozzi concludes, “that the La Civitella Museum, as indeed all the others in the Abruzzo DRM, are the priority interest of the Administration that manages them, as well as of all citizens, official notice will be given of the reopening as soon as the aforementioned problems are resolved, most likely within a few months.”

"This is why the National Museum in Chieti remains closed." Regional director speaks

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