39 different Italian governments have been in power in the time it has taken to realize the plans for the new art museum. On Monday came the good news that it is now moving towards opening, which will be on 7 December.
The museum project has been plagued by numerous delays, most recently the discovery of asbestos in the premises and problems with the ventilation system.
The opening day was announced at a press conference in the neighboring Pinacoteca di Brera museum, which contains one of the premier collections of Italian paintings from the 13th to the 20th centuries – including works by Canova, Caravaggio, Raphael and Hayez.
The new museum will house more than 100 works of contemporary art, which until now have mostly been relegated to storage. A temporary exhibition recently attracted 30,000 visitors, and there will be outdoor concerts in the palace garden this summer.
It is expected that the two museums together will attract half a million visitors in 2024, which is an increase from last year’s 466,709 visitors – which is more than before the pandemic: Then the maximum number of visitors was around 410,000.
The director of the Brera museums is Angelo Crespi, who took over in February as part of the far-right Italian government’s desire to have Italians head important cultural institutions. Crespi’s predecessor was the British-Canadian historian James Bradburne, who served two four-year terms and thus might not continue.
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2024-07-10 11:54:34
