Sgarbi: No to Milan's Museo del '900 walkway, Uffizi loggia replacement

Italian Undersecretary for Culture Vittorio Sgarbi, in a January 2 interview with Corriere della Sera, declared that the planned walkway connecting the two arengari of Piazza Duomo to create a unified Museo del '900 in Milan 'will certainly not be built.' He suggested an underground passage instead, despite an international architecture competition already having a winner. Sgarbi also proposed a contemporary art museum at Milan's former Expo 2015 area, specifically in the Padiglione Zero, ignoring existing private development plans. Regarding the Uffizi, he claimed to have consulted architect Paolo Genta (without a competition) to replace Arata Isozaki's 25-year-old winning loggia design with a pergola. Other projects mentioned include: the Marmi Torlonia collection in Rome (at Palazzo Rivaldi or Palazzo degli Esami), an Oriental art museum at Castello di Sammezzano, state purchase of Giuseppe Verdi's home, a Sicilian Novecento museum in Noto, and a realism museum in Sulmona. Sgarbi also opposed renewable energy installations in certain territories, citing 'protection of beauty.' The article criticizes his statements as ideologically driven and potentially harmful to cultural projects.