Let’s start again from culture, the one that has suffered most, with tourism, from the pandemic. The one that, faced in the right way, can really be an economic driving force for tomorrow. “Culture, what an enterprise” is the theme of the first appointment of Alfabeto del Futuro, the tour of the Gedi News Network group dedicated to our country’s ability to innovate and respond to the challenges of the crises that have been gripping the planet for some time, now in its fourth edition.
Seven stops around Italy to explore the different themes on the table of tomorrow. Starting today, from Mantua, at 5.30 pm, the first event hosted by “Casa Marcegaglia”, a permanent museum structure full of interactive installations and multifunctional illustrative spaces.
“After two years of pandemic and with the war in Ukraine, talking about the future is important, because it is precisely in the most complicated moments that one must identify the tools to overcome difficulties, understand what is useful to do and find out what is being done. . With an eye to the missions indicated by the PNRR, the National Recovery and Resilience Plan ”explains Luca Ubaldeschi, editorial manager of the tour and director of Secolo XIX.
Massimo Giannini, director of La Stampa and editorial director of the GNN newspapers, and Enrico Grazioli, director of the Gazzetta d Mantova will conduct the appointment with him. Many guests, who will participate in interviews and panels: Stefano Baia Curioni, director of the Palazzo Te Foundation; Guido Bozzo and Andrea Marec, founders of Reasoned Art; Eleonora Calavalle, CEO of Pennelli Cinghiale; Massimiliano Ghizzi, president of the Tea Group; Emma Marcegaglia, president and CEO of Marcegaglia Holding; Antonio Marcegaglia, president and CEO of Marcegaglia Steel; Marco Nava, Southern Lombardy Regional Director of Intesa Sanpaolo; Mattia Palazzi, mayor of Mantua; Marco Pasquali, mayor of Sabbioneta and Angela Picozzi, founder of Castor Fashion, as well as Astralia and Colpo Wexler, who will be interviewed in the metaverse.
But where do we start from? What is the situation of our country in the cultural sector? For the number of museums compared to population and territory, Italy has no equal in the world. According to Istat, for example, there are 4,880 museums in the national territory. Only China has more, about 250, but in a country that has an extension and a population about thirty times our size.
In addition to museums, the Italian cultural heritage is also made up of works in the strict sense, such as paintings and sculptures, but also of parks, monuments, gardens, historic villas, entire villages and other structures of high architectural value.
About one in three municipalities houses at least one museum, an archaeological or monumental area. An immense treasure, a priceless heritage that also contributes significantly to the country’s economy. Unfortunately, this sector, together with the tourism sector, was unfortunately hit hard, much more than others, by the pandemic, which not only imposed total and indiscriminate closures for several periods, but also changed the ways in which people access the art, in fact favoring the ever wider use of new technologies. A quick leap, an important and in some ways interesting transition, which however most museums and cultural operators were not prepared to face.
To relaunch this strategic sector, dedicated investments have been made within the National Recovery and Resistance Plan. Among the most significant interventions the digitization of the artistic heritage and the removal of architectural barriers. Massive investments are then planned to enhance the landscape beauties, the rural heritage and the small villages, the gardens and the historic villas, as well as for the earthquake-proof safety of the religious buildings.
Covid has profoundly changed the way art is used. The public chooses more and more both on the basis of territorial proximity and the digital offer that is made available. Unfortunately, however, only 30% of museums have a complete cataloging of their heritage.
Another obstacle that considerably limits the potential of the sector is the presence of architectural barriers, often very impacting. It is a problem that affects both visitors with disabilities and those with limited mobility, especially the elderly public. One in three structures does not have adequate spaces (equipped bathrooms, ramps, elevators). All these critical issues have been taken into consideration by the NRP which provides for a series of specific interventions. The investments planned for culture under the NRP amount to a total of 4.28 billion euros. To these resources are added 1.46 billion to finance 14 interventions for the protection, enhancement and cultural promotion. Many of these interventions will concern important cities such as Turin, Milan, Venice, Rome, Naples and Palermo, but the small villages and the anti-seismic safety of places of worship will not be neglected.