Arcadia Italy

Written by Emily Dellheim, Arcadia University Rome Center Professor for “Museum Practices in Rome: The History of Collecting”.

Italy. Being the country with the world’s highest concentration of UNESCO cultural heritage sites (55 to be exact), means beauty and history are integral to the country’s identity. The cultural institutions that promote this heritage are of central importance. Thus, with the mandatory closures and quarantine due to Coronavirus, one might think that Italy has also shut down access to its rich cultural heritage. On the contrary, Italy’s museums immediately activated engaging ways to keep themselves open beyond their physical walls. 

As stated in UNESCO’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, access to arts and culture are fundamental for everyone. So what happens when cultural institutions, museums, libraries, theatres – by their nature public spaces that contain, preserve, and diffuse cultural heritage – suddenly shut their doors, and the public can no longer physically visit them?

As obvious aggregation centers, museums and cultural heritage sites were among the first places to temporarily close to the public amidst the outbreak of Covid-19. As the situation evolves, the entire country has to stay at home and can only have physical access to places that have been deemed “essential services” (grocery stores, pharmacies, etc.). At the same time, as we adjust to this momentary routine of social isolation, a new “essential service” emerges as a beacon of light for our home lives: museums. 

Their doors may be closed, but their commitment to preservation, research, education and public enjoyment continue, as museums across Italy are opening themselves up through digital media and downloadable resources. From virtual tours, to behind the scenes meetings with museum directors, conservators and art historians, Italian museums are pumping out content to keep their collections active and relevant to the general public. Additionally, with school closures and the transition to distance learning, museums are goldmines for quality educational content for teachers and families who need immediate, trustworthy ways to engage their children. 

This is a time that we have to evaluate what is “essential.” How can we keep people going, at home? As we navigate stocking the fridge, working remotely or taking classes online, we still need access to leisure activities and entertainment, and especially to experiences that evoke enjoyment and beauty – characteristic priorities of the inhabitants of our country. While our screen time might increase, filled with Zoom meetings, Whatsapp chats, and Netflix binges, Italy’s cultural institutions are diligently reaching out to us, cutting through the noise, and offering us cultural experiences from the comfort of our couch. 

Here are some of my favorite initiatives coming out of Italian museums, each one offering something unique in the face of this global health pandemic:

1. Notes for Cultural Resistance: Milan and the surrounding towns in Lombardy were one of the first regions in Northern Italy to be hit by Covid-19. The Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan is doing everything it can to provide connection and support to its hard-hit community. “Notes for Cultural Resistance” underscores the museum’s commitment to resistance, courage, social cohesion and welcoming all audiences. Short videos take us behind the scenes, where museum employees – ranging from the visitors’ services and security team, to educators, conservators, registrars, and curators – share the museum collection from their point of view. Canadian Director, James M. Bradburne, even sits down with us to read children’s stories. Human connection is so important at this time, and actually, at any time. Director Bradburne aims to make this connection by speaking directly and interactively to the viewer, and offering ways to keep the storytelling going at home.
2. In Touch: Building a New Relationship with our Audience: This platform, launched by the Palazzo Strozzi in Florence, describes itself as “a new interaction with our audience in an effort to ‘remote-trigger’ a debate through the language that we know best, the language of art.” The museum shares insights into the work of artists who explore fundamental aspects of the human condition. Furthermore, the museum has called upon many of the artists they have worked with in recent years to share messages about connection, solidarity, and hope for a better future. The videos include a real “who’s who” of the contemporary art world, with internationally renowned artists such as Marina Abramović, Ai Weiwei, Tomás Saraceno and Jeff Koons.
3. Le Passeggiate del direttore (Director’s walks): The Museo Egizio in Turin, the world’s oldest museum dedicated to Egyptian art and culture, usually offers monthly tours with Director Christian Greco. Normally these tours cost €28 a person, but in the wake of the physical closure, the museum is moving its Director’s walks online, for free, and with English subtitles. Under Greco’s tenure as Director, the Museo Egizio has created many educational initiatives aimed at offering the museum as a space of welcoming and of social inclusion, and this digital project is no different. While access to a museum director can often be framed as elitist and formal, here, Greco speaks to his beloved public in an informal, casual way, as though we are long-time friends, exploring the museum together. At the same time, the “walks” are full of important historical information and the English-language option reflects the Museum’s international role and opens the museum up beyond Italian borders. 
4. Raphael (1520-1483) at the Scuderie del Quirinale: The most anticipated exhibition of the year in Rome, and perhaps in all of Italy, the monographic exhibition dedicated to Raphael opened on March 5th and closed three days later due to Covid-19 containment measures. The exhibition, mounted in celebration of the 500^th anniversary of Raphael’s death in Rome, had all of the makings of a blockbuster: rare loans from around the world and over 70,000 tickets sold in presale. This unique occasion required collaboration between competing institutions. In fact, the Uffizi in Florence, the Vatican Museums and the Borghese Gallery in Rome all contributed to the show and renounced their own Raphael exhibition plans so as not to dilute the importance of the Scuderie exhibition; meanwhile museums outside of Italy, such as the Louvre in Paris and the National Gallery in London, postponed their Raphael exhibitions in order to loan their Raphael works to the Eternal City, where the run of the exhibition was scheduled to coincide with the 500th anniversary of Raphael’s death (April 6th, 1520).  As such, the closure of this exhibition has national and international repercussions. While the galleries are “sleeping,” the Scuderie del Quirinale is shifting the exhibition online, releasing tons of videos of and about the exhibition, broadcasting these resources on their website and social media channels (#RaffaelloInMostra, #RaffaelloOltreLaMostra), and on television through SkyArt. There are interviews with the exhibition curators; clips that discuss the rigorous, scientific aspects of the exhibition; insights into the beauty and poetic nature of Raphael’s work; and of course, a virtual walkthrough of the exhibition and its 200 objects (which in one week of existence has seen over 424,000 views – an extraordinary number that far exceeds the amount of people who would have physically visited the exhibition in that short amount of time). 

With this unexpected downtime, people seem to have a newfound interest in Italy’s cultural heritage scene, following the initiatives proposed by museums that perhaps they haven’t physically visited for some time, if ever. This is an occasion for museums to connect with the “non-visitor” and grow their audience. It is also a time to create content that is useful beyond this historic moment. Specifically, it is a time to strategize and implement educational initiatives that continue going forward, not only as a temporary response while the country is in crisis mode. More and more Italian museums are catching on, and now museums in the United States are starting to follow suit. Out of these unfortunate circumstances, the museum world also has a great opportunity: learning how to be essential and accessible in brick and mortar, as well as virtually, in their community’s homes, now and for the future.