Vittorio Sgarbi: Foreign museum directors will leave Italy

Vittorio Sgarbi, Italy's Undersecretary for Culture, stated that foreign directors of major state museums will leave their posts. Speaking at the Grand Hotel Principe di Piemonte in Viareggio on August 20, 2023, during the Incontri del Principe event, Sgarbi said: "Now they are leaving. We arrived and they are leaving. Why should I put a foreign director at the Uffizi? Has there ever been a foreigner at the Louvre? Symbols are symbols. This season is over." He specifically mentioned that directors at Brera, Florence, and Naples will not be renewed. This comes amid a ministry tender for the renewal of so-called super directors, which does not explicitly ban foreigners but prohibits a third term at the same institution, effectively excluding Eike Schmidt (Uffizi) and Cecile Hollberg (Galleria dell'Accademia). The tender remains open to EU citizens. Sgarbi also made controversial remarks about race and surrogacy, including defending his earlier comments at MAXXI and stating that "a black person who is among us belongs to his world and is integrated by us." The article criticizes his statements as damaging to Italy's international cultural outlook.