Post-Lockdown Culture: The Return to Pre-Covid Disengagement

During the 2020 lockdown, cultural engagement in Italy surged as digital offerings and free government portals made art accessible. However, this interest faded with reopenings. Many European museums reported significant losses in summer 2020 as people chose outdoor vacations over museum visits. Media attention shifted away, and virtual exhibitions from 2020 remain prominent in search results, with none from 2021. The author, Stefano Monti, argues that culture must be treated as an indirect effect of enjoyable cultural activities, similar to physical fitness from sports. He criticizes the tendency to present culture as sacred and niche, advocating for broader accessibility, territorial offerings, and a focus on contemporary production over heritage. Monti calls for desacralizing culture to prevent its decline, emphasizing that respecting symbolic value should not lead to anachronistic reverence.