Italy. What does Alessandro Giuli do? After media overexposure following his appointment just two years ago, the Italian Minister of Culture no longer appears rarely in the transalpine media, speaking only sparingly. But a few months before the legislative elections, the question that arises is: what did he do at the head of a ministry which was supposed to promote “a cultural revolution” in the words of Giorgia Meloni? Between major tax measures demanded for decades by players in the Art market, spectacular acquisition policies, controversial appointments and persistent budgetary limits, its results are mixed.
“Alessandro Giuli arrived at the ministry with significant credibility capital, benefiting above all from the contrast with the previous management of Gennaro Sangiuliano ousted for a scandal tainting his private life”, recalls Alberto Mattioli who devoted the pamphlet “Clumsy Right” to the cultural policy of the Meloni government. “If his initial intentions suggested a more open and inclusive cultural policy, he was quickly called to order. Result: its action was reduced to simple management of current affairs, with no real room for maneuver. No large-scale or truly innovative cultural project has been launched. The incapacity of the right in power to define its cultural identity and its absence of a suitable intellectual class prevent it from implementing a real national cultural policy. »
Emblematic measures
Alessandro Giuli nevertheless claims the launch of the Olivetti plan, a major project to support public libraries. A financial envelope of 54.8 million euros has been allocated to them in 2025 as well as to the book sector to modernize and help libraries in the Italian regions and peripheries. An emergency in a country where less than 40% of inhabitants opened a book for extra-professional or academic reasons last year and where 35% of the population is functionally illiterate.
The other great merit that the art market recognizes this time is that of an overhaul of taxation. Long demanded by gallery owners, collectors and players in the sector, the significant reduction in VAT on the purchase of works of art – reduced from 22% to 5% – constitutes a strong measure. This rate, now the lowest in Europe ahead of that of France (set at 5.5%), puts Italy back at the heart of the international strategies of auction houses and galleries.
At the same time, the ministry has relaunched an ambitious policy of acquisitions of masterpieces of ancient art. These high-profile operations saw the Italian state massively invest around 60 million euros to enrich national collections. Among the major pieces integrated into the public heritage are the Portrait of Maffeo Barberini by Caravaggio, a work by Antonello of Messina, as well as the François Tomban absolute masterpiece of Etruscan wall painting.
Still persistent deficiencies
“These media highlights should not make us forget the persistence of structural deficiencies within the ministry, underlines Stefano Baia Curioni, former advisor to Minister Franceschini and president of the International Center of Art and Culture of the Fondazione Palazzo Te in Mantua. The ministry suffers from a chronic deficit of qualified personnel to manage the current complexity (urban planning, environment, digitalization). The last major reform of the MIC dates back to 2015 and aimed to give broad autonomy to museums. But it remained partial: personnel management still depends on the central administration, which limits the real room for maneuver of directors. Although historic budget cuts were partially curbed in the 2020s, the recruitment problem remains. » Last April, Alessandro Giuli announced that he had neutralized the reductions planned for live performance and lyrical foundations and scheduled 2,377 recruitments at the ministry. A figure that turns out to be astonishing. The financial effort to support the action of the MIC turns out to be insufficient. The National Fund for Museum Federalism was only allocated 5 million euros in the last finance law. Compared to the thousands of establishments on the peninsula, this envelope represents on average only a few thousand euros per museum. A pittance.
Last June, the Italian cultural sector mobilized for its first national strike movement denouncing the level of wages, precariousness and working conditions. “ Funds from the European recovery plan have made it possible to respond to deficiencies that have lasted for decades within national museums (air conditioning, lighting, energy efficiency, accessibility), explains Claudia Casali, director of the International Ceramic Museum of Faenza. But there is a lack of a centralized system dedicated to the promotion of contemporary Italian art internationally via embassies and Italian Institutes of Culture, whose budgets remain limited. The Plan for Contemporary Art (PAC), which amounted to 3.5 million euros in 2024, saw its envelope reduced to 3 million euros. As the electoral deadlines approach, issues and programs relating to Culture are non-existent and absent from public debate. »
