Critique of Post-Pandemic Museum Exhibitions: Banksy in Sansepolcro and Sharks in Florence

The article criticizes two Italian museum exhibitions as emblematic of misguided post-pandemic cultural revival efforts. In Sansepolcro, the Museo Civico opened 'Affreschi Urbani. Piero incontra un artista chiamato Banksy' on June 20, 2020, featuring 20 Banksy screenprints. The author argues this is a lowbrow operation, comparing it to 1990s exhibitions of Salvador Dalí multiples in deconsecrated churches, and notes Banksy is simultaneously showing at Palazzo dei Diamanti in Ferrara. The museum houses masterpieces by Piero della Francesca, Andrea della Robbia, and Pontormo. The exhibition is organized by cultural association MetaMorfosi with Civita. In Florence, the Museo Marino Marini opened 'Di squali e di balene' on July 1, 2020, displaying a tiger shark and a sperm whale skeleton from the natural history museum La Specola. The author questions the relevance to Marino Marini, the 20th-century Italian sculptor who donated 183 works to the museum. Museum president Patrizia Asproni defends the show as fostering connections for public reflection. The article warns against diluting museum identity and devaluing cultural heritage.