Renato Barilli criticizes Franceschini's museum reform as consumerist

Renato Barilli, professor emeritus at the University of Bologna, argues that Dario Franceschini's reform to appoint international directors to twenty Italian museums via open calls is consumerist, aimed at increasing revenue rather than addressing management failures. Barilli contends that existing regulations already allow for revenue generation through ticketing, and underperforming staff could be removed via promotion to other roles. He questions the narrative of Italian cultural excellence, noting that no Italian museum rivals the scale of the Louvre, National Gallery, Prado, or Metropolitan Museum, except the Vatican Museums. The Uffizi suffers from long queues due to inadequate infrastructure, which only state intervention could remedy. Other museums promoted by the minister lack sufficient tourist appeal. Barilli cites the successful appointment of an external director at Caserta, but argues that any predecessor could have achieved the same by evicting illegal residents and enforcing staff punctuality.