The Italian government has announced a series of new appointments in a comprehensive restructuring effort involving ten state-run museums. This reshuffle includes the appointment of Eike Schmidt, who served as the director of the Uffizi galleries in Florence, as the new director of the Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte in Naples.
A selection committee appointed by the culture ministry revealed the names of the new directors for the Uffizi, Capodimonte, and the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan on December 15th. Schmidt, who had been in his role in Florence for eight years, will be succeeded by Simone Verde, an art historian who previously oversaw the Pilotta complex of museums in Parma. Verde holds a doctorate in anthropology and cultural heritage from the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris and was previously responsible for research and publications at the Louvre Abu Dhabi. Notably, he supervised a €22.4 million restoration of the Pilotta site, significantly transforming the complex of buildings that house the National Archaeological Museum and the Palatine Library. Verde has been contacted for comment regarding his plans for the Uffizi Galleries.
In other significant changes, Renata Cristina Mazzantini will take over as the director of the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rome, succeeding Cristiana Collu. Mazzantini has overseen Quirinale Contemporaneo, a contemporary art and design project based at the presidential residence and offices in Rome. Angelo Crespi, the president of the Maga Museum in Gallarate, has been appointed as the director of the Pinacoteca di Brera, replacing James Bradburne.
These appointments reflect a shift towards selecting Italian-born candidates for leadership roles, a departure from the previous practice of seeking foreign experts to lead Italy's most prestigious cultural institutions. This trend began in 2020 under former culture minister Dario Franceschini but has been accelerated by the current minister, Gennaro Sangiuliano, under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Earlier this year, concerns were raised by art historians regarding the impartiality of the government-appointed committee tasked with helping select new museum directors in Italy.
Eike Schmidt has hinted at possible political ambitions, fueling speculation that he may run in the mayoral elections in Florence next year, representing the right-wing ruling Brothers of Italy party led by Meloni. However, he emphasized that such a candidacy is hypothetical and that he is currently fully dedicated to his responsibilities at Capodimonte.
In Naples, Schmidt replaces the French art historian Sylvain Bellenger and will work alongside two other museum chiefs in a management triumvirate: Cecilie Hollberg, the current director of the Galleria dell’Accademia in Florence, and Marco Pierini, the former director of the Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria in Perugia and the Polo Museale dell’Umbria.
Selena Mattei