Bocconi study analyzes pandemic impact on Italian museums and theaters

A study by the Arts and Culture Knowledge Centre at Bocconi University in Milan examined how Italian cultural institutions responded to the COVID-19 lockdown. Museums and theaters shifted to digital activities: 77% of museums focused on digital storytelling, 65% on social media; theaters relied on archive performances (73.5%), interviews (50%), and live streams (20%). Facebook and Instagram were most used; Twitter and LinkedIn less so. The lockdown caused a near-total loss of ticket revenue, private sponsorships, and fundraising, which shifted to urgent causes like hospitals. Public institution staff retained salaries, foundation workers used the FIS fund, and intermittent workers were initially excluded from government aid. The study concluded that cultural institutions cannot survive without public funding and need to rethink their business models, reducing dependence on ticket sales. Museums reopened gradually from May 18 with limited capacity and lost international tourism, but their structures allowed controlled access. Theaters were allowed to reopen no earlier than June 15 with strict limits (200 indoors, 1,000 outdoors, masks, social distancing). Theaters expressed dissatisfaction with the government's handling, citing a lack of interest and clarity in decrees.