Ministry of Culture, this is how Sangiuliano extends the chain of command

In paragraph 8 of art. 3 of the Regulation it is provided that “the heads of departments (…) are responsible for the overall results achieved in the implementation of the Minister’s instructions”.

Criticism and Return to the Past

Arteconomy24 has repeatedly followed the reform process since the Council of Ministers approved it last August as part of the Prime Minister’s comprehensive decree regulating criminal and civil trials, forest fires, judicial personnel and the Ministry of Justice, and the rules for drug addiction rehabilitation. In all our articles, we have highlighted some doubts that are worth reiterating here. What we are facing is not a real reform, but a return to the past, because the reorganization follows the minister’s desired departmental plan. Rocco ButtiglioneThe term of office from April 2005 to May 2006 proved to be a failure due to excessive bureaucratic procedures and hampered the functioning of MiC central and peripheral structures.

The whole direction

The inclusion of the departments and their managers appointed by the Minister as trustees, to which general and non-general managers and officials will be added, significantly lengthens the chain of command. Moreover, it is clear that the direct political appointment of the heads of departments will also affect the appointment of all other managers. 14 museums with special autonomy, such as the Royal Palace of Caserta or the Pinacoteca di Brera, will be subordinate to both DiVa and the General Directorate of Museums. This represents a regression in the desired managerial autonomy and will be a headache for museum directors, who will have to request a double authorization to carry out their activities. The Central Institute for Economic Addition and Promotion of Cultural Heritage was created together with DiVa, with the possibility of duplication and overlap of tasks. The Digital Library, whose mission is to digitize cultural heritage, also benefited from a 500 million euro grant from the PNRR and had full autonomy in the previous organization; its work will now depend on the General Directorate of Digitization and Communication, whose function is to digitize cultural heritage. The General Directorate of Contemporary Creativity, whose mission is to support cultural and creative enterprises and promote urban regeneration interventions, will work with DiVa to encourage private entities, individuals or associations to participate in cultural heritage valorization activities.

Thus, from the first reading of the regulation, one gets the feeling of being faced with a cumbersome organizational structure, as stressed by the Council of State in its Opinion No. 00132-2024 of February 2014, which denigrates the shortcomings of the accompaniment relationship. However, the documents annexed to the regulation are drawn up in a sparse and concise way, which clarify and illustrate the essential and limiting features of the technical-legal aspects, as well as the innovations and conservation options compared to the previous regulations. Compared to the major museums, the reform is defined as not radical.

In addition, the opinion also highlights other key issues, such as the increase in the number of management positions. In fact, the document states that compared to the previous organization, general-level positions (from 27 to 32) and non-general-level positions (from 192 to 198) will be increased, while respecting the maximum numbers established by law and complying with financial invariance, as evidenced by a technical report stamped by the General Directorate of Accounting.