Italian cultural sector faces collapse, debate over investment fund
The Italian cultural sector faces catastrophic losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with Confcommercio estimating over €52 billion in losses and a 3% GDP drop. Museums, theaters, cinemas, and galleries are closed indefinitely. State museums lose €20 million monthly; Milan's civic museums lose €400,000 per week. Publishing faces 18,600 fewer titles and 39.3 million unsold copies. Live music has lost €63 million in two months. A debate on Corriere della Sera, launched by Pierluigi Battista on March 26, proposes a National Fund for Culture or Culture Bond to attract private savings. Responses include Andrea Carandini (FAI) suggesting immediate 5 per mille distributions; Giovanna Melandri (MAXXI) advocating a patient capital impact fund; Carlo Fuortes (Teatro dell'Opera di Roma) proposing Art & Culture Bonds; and Paolo Baratta (ex-Biennale di Venezia) warning against hidden public debt. Federculture launched a public appeal on March 31 for the fund's creation. Internationally, Jerry Saltz and Hans Ulrich Obrist draw parallels to the New Deal, with Obrist urging UK government action.
Key facts
- Confcommercio estimates over €52 billion in losses and a 3% GDP drop due to COVID-19.
- State museums lose €20 million per month; Milan's civic museums lose €400,000 per week.
- Publishing: 18,600 fewer titles, 39.3 million unsold copies, 2,500 untranslated titles.
- Live music: 4,200 events canceled, €63 million lost in two months.
- Pierluigi Battista proposed a National Fund for Culture on Corriere della Sera on March 26, 2020.
- Andrea Carandini (FAI) suggested immediate distribution of 5 per mille tax allocations.
- Giovanna Melandri (MAXXI) proposed a patient capital impact fund for culture.
- Carlo Fuortes (Teatro dell'Opera di Roma) proposed Art & Culture Bonds redeemable for tickets.
- Paolo Baratta warned against hidden public debt in any fund mechanism.
- Federculture launched a public appeal on March 31, 2020, for the fund's creation.
- Jerry Saltz and Hans Ulrich Obrist referenced the New Deal as a model for cultural recovery.
- Obrist urged the UK government to implement a similar program.
Entities
Artists
- Jerry Saltz
- Hans Ulrich Obrist
- Jackson Pollock
- Mark Rothko
- Willem de Kooning
Institutions
- Confcommercio
- Confindustria
- Corriere della Sera
- FAI (Fondo Ambiente Italiano)
- Federculture
- Quadriennale di Roma
- MAXXI
- Teatro dell'Opera di Roma
- Biennale di Venezia
- Serpentine Galleries
- Assomusica
- AIE (Associazione Italiana Editori)
- Ministero dei beni culturali e del turismo
- Comune di Milano
- Palazzo Reale
- Galleria d'Arte Moderna
- Castello Sforzesco
- Uffizi
- Financial Times
- The Guardian
- Internazionale
- Artribune
Locations
- Italy
- Milan
- Rome
- Florence
- Venice
- London
- New York
- United Kingdom
- United States