Zètema and Rome Museums Deny Plagiarism Accusations Over Facebook Page

Zètema Progetto Cultura, the company managing Rome's civic museums, has denied allegations of plagiarizing the Facebook page 'Se i quadri potessero parlare' (If Paintings Could Speak) for its Christmas advertising campaign. The controversy, first reported by La Repubblica's Rome edition, involved the page's founder Stefano Guerrera accusing the municipality of copying his concept of pairing humorous captions with artworks. Zètema's communications office defended its campaign by citing previous examples of ironic museum promotions dating back to 2009, including the Notte dei Musei campaigns. However, critics note that the 2016 Christmas campaign closely resembles Guerrera's style, unlike Zètema's earlier work. Zètema argued that its advertising serves a specific communication objective, unlike social media humor. The company, wholly owned by the municipality, suggested that Guerrera may have copied them instead. The incident highlights tensions between institutional advertising and viral social media content.