2023-12-16 08:26:34
The director of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence and cultural manager Eike Schmidt, who was briefly designated as KHM boss, is moving to Naples. At the end of his second term in Florence, the German was appointed director of the Capodimonte Museum in Naples, the Ministry of Culture in Rome announced on Friday evening. Schmidt replaces Frenchman Sylvain Bellengerè, who has led the Capodimonte Museum in Naples since 2015.
“Schmidt is one of the most important museum directors. He headed the Uffizi, one of the largest museums in the world, and has great international experience,” said Italian Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano, commenting on the appointment.
The Uffizi Gallery in Florence recorded five million visitors in 2023. This is a new record, compared to the previous high of around 4.3 million in the pre-pandemic year of 2019. This corresponds to an increase of almost 50 percent compared to 2015, the museum announced. A record was also reported in terms of income at 60 million euros. That’s 70 percent more than the 35 million in 2022.
Schmidt, who is married to an Italian, became an Italian citizen at the end of November. The manager was appointed general director of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna in 2017 as the successor to Sabine Haag. However, due to changes in the political situation in Italy – Dario Franceschini, the politician who had pushed through the museum reform a few years ago and thus made possible top positions for foreign managers at the museums, was once once more the culture minister at the time – Schmidt ultimately saw an extension in Italy within reach. He finally unexpectedly canceled Vienna at short notice in favor of the Uffizi.
The Capodimonte Museum in Naples shows exhibits of Italian and Neapolitan cultural heritage as well as an extensive picture gallery. The collection focuses on oil paintings from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, including important works by Masaccio, Sandro Botticelli, Raphael, Titian, Caravaggio, El Greco, Pieter Bruegel the Elder and Luca Giordano.
The museum is housed in the Reggia di Capodimonte Palace. It was originally the summer residence of the Bourbons in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies just outside the city and overlooks the city. Goethe observed an eruption of Vesuvius from the top floor of the palace on June 2, 1787 and described this in his book “Italian Journey”.
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