Alessandro Giuli, Italy's Culture Minister, Two Years After the Promised 'Cultural Revolution'
Alessandro Giuli, after two years as Italy's Minister of Culture, has delivered a mixed performance, according to Le Journal des Arts. His administration has implemented crucial tax reforms, notable acquisitions, and faced budget limitations. The Olivetti initiative earmarks €54.8 million for libraries in 2025 to combat low literacy and reading rates. Giuli succeeded in reducing VAT on art purchases from 22% to 5%, the lowest rate across Europe. Approximately €60 million was spent by the ministry on acquiring Old Master works, including Caravaggio's Portrait of Maffeo Barberini. Critics point out issues with staffing and outdated policies. In April, Giuli revealed plans for 2,377 new hires and reversed cuts to the performing arts. This article appeared in Le Journal des Arts n°684 on 2 October 2026.
Key facts
- Alessandro Giuli has served as Italy's Minister of Culture for two years, appointed under Giorgia Meloni's government
- The Olivetti plan allocated €54.8 million in 2025 to public libraries and the book sector
- VAT on art purchases was cut from 22% to 5%, the lowest rate in Europe ahead of France's 5.5%
- Italy invested around €60 million in acquiring Old Master works including Caravaggio's Portrait of Maffeo Barberini, a work by Antonello da Messina, and the François Tomb
- Fewer than 40% of Italians read a book for non-professional or non-school reasons last year, and 35% are functionally illiterate
- Giuli announced 2,377 recruitments at the ministry and neutralised cuts to performing arts and lyric foundations in April
- The Fonds national pour le fédéralisme muséal received only €5 million in the latest finance law
- Italy's cultural sector held its first national strike in June over salaries, precarity and working conditions
- The Plan pour l'art contemporain (PAC) fell from €3.5 million in 2024 to €3 million
- The article appeared in Le Journal des Arts n°684 on 2 October 2026
Entities
Artists
- Alessandro Giuli
- Giorgia Meloni
- Gennaro Sangiuliano
- Alberto Mattioli
- Stefano Baia Curioni
- Claudia Casali
- Dario Franceschini
- Caravaggio
- Antonello de Messina
- Olivier Tosseri
- Philippe Geluck
- Gilles Bechet
- Christine Coste
- Julien Tribut
- Emma Boutier
Institutions
- Le Journal des Arts
- Ministero della Cultura (MIC)
- Fondazione Palazzo Te
- Museo Internazionale delle Ceramiche in Faenza
- Musée du Chat
- Château d'Aubenas
- Musip
- Instituts italiens de la Culture
- Ministero della Cultura
- Villa Verdi
- Ex-albergo dei Poveri
- Uffizi Diffusi
- Palazzo Citterio
- UNESCO
- Fondazione MAXXI
- Ministero delle Infrastrutture
- Ministero dell'Agricoltura
- Ministero del Turismo
- Artribune
Locations
- Italy
- France
- Mantua
- Faenza
- Rome
- Colosseum
- Paris
- Belgium
- Ixelles
- Aubenas
- Caivano