For a large group of managers of Italian state museums, the time has come Certificates at the end of the course. One of them in particular is the director of the Uffizi Eike Schmidtwhich has been in the newspapers frequently in recent months and especially in recent weeks, also thanks to the fact that on Friday the Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano appointed him director of Neapolitan Museum of Capodimonte and above all, whether we like it or not, at the moment it is Candidate in pectore of Middle right for the next local elections Florence. All this makes it easier to analyze his work offices not only interesting, but even necessary.
Between 2015 and 2023, Schmidt held the position of director of the Uffizi as a first-tier manager, i.e. Until December 19th he will direct the most famous Florentine museum, the “Galleries of the Uffizi”, the meaning coined eight years ago after the capricious Franceschini reform. In practice, unpacking the Florentine museum complexgoverned by Antonio Paolucci and then from Cristina Acidinideveloped three groups From autonomous museums (Uffizi, Bargello Galleries and Accademia Galleries), while the remaining museums merged into the regional museum complex, which has since been “condemned” to a life of hardship. The result for the Uffizi was that he found himself at the forefront of a first magnitude star in the Italian panorama a mini-hub of around ten institutes – Between Museums and that Boboli's Garden – under the leadership of a new manager, namely Schmidt.
Not even halfway through his first term – when the minister was still the five-star minister Alberto Bonisoli – took part in the competition for the position of new director Art-historical Vienna, he won it, but then changed his mind a few weeks after accepting the commission, resulting in a less positive impression of both himself and the Uffizi Gallery. And instead he has now reached the end of two mandates in which the gallery apparently did more good for the manager than the other way around. How did these eight years as director of the Uffizi go? In contrast to the mini-pole from Bargello Museumsthe mini-pole of the Uffizi Galleries – formed from the main museum, those of Pitti PalaceThe Boboli's GardenThe Vasari Corridor and the Never Born Carriage Museum – also served bring several museums together and strongly increase the number of entries. According to Schmidt, for example, the Uffizi Gallery will arrive this year five million visitors and they will probably even manage to overcome this theshold psychologicallyBut as is often the case, not everything that glitters is gold.
Nowadays, many directors of autonomous museums whose terms of office are expiring do this Race to complete their projects; Instead, if they fail, in some cases they leak out Justifications. Which makes little difference to the museum visitor audience. Those who pay the often expensive entrance ticket are interested in this the museum functions, is usable and gives you a powerful experience. If this is not possible, the justification for the apology will not make up for the gap.
In the last few weeks, Schmidt has intensified his activities Opening of the exhibitionsFrom Presentation of the volumesthe concession of Interviews over the eight years at the helm most visited museum in Italy. During all these years, the director of the Uffizi has also been able to count on collaboration with advisory bodies established by law and made up of experts. However, some of them sometimes showed themselves disagreement with management measures, but this is always the case stayed in place (and it would be interesting to understand why).
In any case, it makes sense to stay connected to certain data: for example i Visitors to the Uffizi Gallery – both as a mini-pole and as a single museum – in 2022 they still had not returned at pre-Covid levels of 2019as well as the situation of Institutes of the Palazzo Pitti It's not that rosy after all. Start with Costume Gallery – which was immediately renamed the “Museum of Fashion and Costumes” – which was supposed to become a flagship of Italian museography, but only reopened on December 12th after three years of oblivion.
Then there's this Carriage Museum of the Palazzo Pitti complex, whose birth the manager took for granted at the end of October 2018, but which occurred five years later it hasn't happened yet. And that again Porcelain Museum of Boboli's Garden, which has also been closed for some time due to “renovation”. Always in Boboli he shines for his eternal conclusion the eighteenth century CoffeehouseThey were even called in for a management tender many years ago Bocconi teacher; For too many years, this work, included in the most important architectural history handbooks, has remained inaccessible.
And then there is the case Vasari Corridorwhich the manager closed just a year after taking office and which he was never able to reopen: seven years is almost a geological era, considering how quickly it was carried out other initiatives (also linked to a special interest of yours Contemporary Arts proposed in the main “sanctuaries” of the classical and fueled numerous controversies). The closure of the “corridor” deprived visitors exclusive beauty of Aerial walk which connects the Vasari factory with the Boboli's Garden and then to Pitti Palace and above all the vision of over 500 self-portraits Italian and international artists, that is, almost a third of the entire exclusive collection kept in the gallery's depot. And it almost feels like a mockery to have determined it so recently just over 200 self-portraits in a series of rooms on the ground floor of the gallery: after all, the visitor can admire over 300 fewer than those that were exhibited in the Vasari Museum. In fact it is a remarkable loss.
Still in terms of space management, the large room on the ground floor is below the Uffizi Library – in alluvial areas (just a stone's throw from the Arno) – originally intended for Temporary exhibitions The gallery hosted the exhibition “The Water Microscope of Nature” between October 2018 and January 2019. The Leicester Codex of Leonardo da Vinci, followed by the codex dedicated to him Antony Gormley (between February and May 2019) then nothing more because the same rooms outside the museum tour did not attract the expected audience and were therefore intended for this purpose Bookstore dealer operated; Today the temporary exhibitions are set up along a route immediately after the metal detectorbefore going up to the gallery, and since in this first section the audience walks past everything on display, so does everyone who walks through counted as a “visitor”. this exhibition, whether you look at it or don't even pay attention to it. Of course, we could discuss the meaning of such a museographic solution for months.
There are also other initiatives by the manager that have caused discussion in recent years, such as:Ticket increase to 25 euros and the creation of “short route” that is, after admiration many masterpieces Visitors in a hurry who just want to take selfies in front of the indispensable art totems are invited to the second floor of the gallery Skip the ground floor entirely and leave the museum. However, this means you lose, for example the paintings of the Florentine 16th century, Caravaggio and the whole thing Sixteenth century. These are decisions that have to do with the ministerial doctrine of converting museums, especially the most beautiful ones, into real museums Money machines – is called “Capitalization of culture” – and not in places of culture, education and reflection, so the managers involved have relative responsibility in this case.
At the level of administrative problems It must be registered in the Uffizi broad appeal To retired employeesas well as the tender for the procurement of additional services – those that the state cannot cover and which it therefore entrusts to them Private company for a certain time – it is paralyzed, despite the Dealer Since 2006, present has been operating within the framework of a prorogatio (ie without awarding contracts after a regular tender). For the new assignment A tender has finally been prepared, the result of which should already be known, but communication is taking a long time. At the end of September last year, the envelopes for the technical offer were opened, while the economic offer still seems to take some time. Certainly for now there is no winnernor any official information about it. And the prorogation continues.
In cauda venenum: the endless construction site of New offices: Schmidt never gave the impression that he had achieved the feat speed up the work it's been that way ever since March 2006: A year ago he stated that until this year (2023) the “Mom crane“, the one who stands for 17 years It would be like this on Uffizi Square disappeared until New Year's Eve; Shortly thereafter, rumors began circulating that it would be dismantled instead until Easter (also from this year), but it's still there because it seems to be too expensive to remove. And the story of hardship continues. It is even expanding, since Minister Sangiuliano's first visit to the Uffizi was for verification purposes The end of work on the new restaurant who, however, has not yet been born. When the happy event occurs, one can no longer say that culture cannot be eaten.