Despite being the fifth largest tourist destination in the world, Italian museums combined do not generate as much profit as just the restaurant in New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Italy has turned to the private sector to increase the profitability of its museums, including the Uffizi in Florence and the Borghese in Rome, and make them more resemble other great museums in the world.
New restaurants, gift shops, ticket booths, guides and other amenities will be added in order to up profits, with the aim of raising about €2bn per year by 2017.
Private sector bids from Italian and international companies are to be invited.
Today only 190 out of 450 Italian state museums offer any additional facilities for visitors. Sales of just €380m came in last year, with profits of only €30 million, equating to 50 cents per Italian citizen.
The Louvre in Paris generated €2.5bn last year.
Last year, an estimated 47.7 million foreigners visited Italy. The new initiative should lead to better services for them, but also higher prices.
The government is also encouraging more corporate sponsorship in the arts, such as the €600,000 donated in Venice’s Gallerie dell’Accademia by Samsung Italia. The donation helped the gallery to double its exhibition space and triple its visitor capacity from 300,000 to 900,000 each year.
