Museo Egizio director proposes free admission by 2028, sparking debate

Christian Greco, director of the Museo Egizio in Turin, announced during a city council hearing his goal to make the museum free of charge by 2028, as part of the bicentennial celebrations of its founding in 2024. The model would follow institutions like the British Museum in London, which offers free access to permanent collections, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, which switched from a pay-what-you-wish system to a $25 ticket in 2018 due to budget issues. The proposal has drawn criticism from the Stati Generali del Patrimonio Italiano, whose president Ivan Drogo Inglese warned it could destabilize Italy's over 4,000 public and private museums, which rely on ticket revenue. Greco counters that alternative income streams such as research funds and labs would compensate, while Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano advocates for higher ticket prices instead.