Tour guides approve decision to abolish free Sundays

TheNational Association of Tourist Guides (ANGT) issues a statement in which it agrees with the choice of the Minister of Cultural Heritage, Alberto Bonisoli, to abolish free Sundays in state museums.

“We agree in method and content with Minister Bonisoli’s decision,” says Adina Persano, ANGT President, “to involve the real first actors in the management of a site, the directors, in the choice of the criterion with which to offer free entrance to museums. We think it is very positive to suspend the free Sundays set on the first Sunday of each month, to leave it up to each site to evaluate how and when to offer free openings according to the peculiarities of each art site. We very much appreciate that the minister preferred not to impose his choices as is often the case in politics, but in a transparent and collegial manner, before each decision, he called the Directors of Museums and Archaeological Parks around the table, listening to them and treasuring their suggestions.”

“Very often the first Sundays of the month have coincided with rather significant holidays, as happened this year with Easter,” the ANGT president continues. “We’ll let you imagine the consequences: the long lines and manifestations of hysteria and intolerance over the hours of queuing and waiting for entrances. This is absolutely not for us the correct way to enjoy and value Italy’s cultural heritage. The massive presence of visitors,” he stresses, "has resulted in inconvenience to the visitors themselves as well as to the operators who work at museum sites and tourism professionals such as tour guides, without considering the safety factor of the places and works to be visited.

During the first Sundays of the month, the tour guides note, several unedifying scenes were repeated, especially in large cities, museums stormed just because the site was free, and to what extent is unknown for the desire to observe and grasp the deep meaning of a work of art. But above all, the National Association of Tourist Guides intends to offer suggestions for the future, based on sharing its professional experience. “Based on our experience, we would like to make proposals to the minister and museum directors,” suggests the president. “It would seem interesting to us to continue free Sundays but only for museums ’little known’ to the public, today under the directions of the Museum Poles. For large museums, the choice could be to give free entries in the last hours of entry, those often uncrowded perhaps in the low season, also choosing a Saturday or the same Sunday. It would be useful to share the choices with Italian and foreign tour operator associations for good planning of tourist flows and proper communication. Finally, one could think of extending the possibility of creating museum cards that group state and civic museums, with a duration that is not limited to a few weeks: this would entice both citizens and tourists to return to the places of art and museums they have not yet visited.”

The ANGT stresses its full readiness for dialogue, support and interaction on advantages and critical issues related to the world of tour guides. “To Minister Bonisoli,” Adina Persano closes, “we want to let it be known that we will not spare criticism when the choices do not correspond to our reasoned expectations, but he will have all our support, as in this case, when objective and reasoned evaluations lead to better choices for common goods such as those related to heritage.”

Pictured: a free Sunday at the Royal Palace of Caserta, photo taken by Pasquale Liccardo

Tour guides approve decision to abolish free Sundays

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