Over 55 million visitors in 2019 for Italian museums. With a slight drop compared to 2018 largely due to the waves of bad weather, which made the archaeological parks and outdoor sites suffer, but also to the partial cancellation of the free Sundays, then restored and made permanent by Dario Franceschini with his return at the Roman College in September this year.
At the top there is always the Colosseum, always the most iconic and popular monument in Italy, in 2019 with 7.5 million presences, about 100 thousand less than a year ago. The Uffizi Galleries follow - for the first time considered as a whole, that is, with the Boboli garden and Pitti Palace which are added to the famous art gallery - with 4.5 million visits, and therefore the Pompeii excavations, in fact the the only archaeological site that is not even affected by rain and storms, succeeding in the miracle of 160 thousand more visitors, for a total that is now approaching 4 million detached tickets (they were 2.5 million no more than five years ago).
So much so, however "extraordinary" results, comments Franceschini, who next Wednesday will present to the press the new 12 international calls for as many museums (inside there are 8 that have just been promoted, from the Gerolamini Complex to the Royal Palace of Naples, from the Pinacoteca of Bologna to the Roman duo of Palazzo Venezia and Vittoriano).
Minister Pd in his second term at the helm of the ministry founded by Spadolini underlines with satisfaction the success of managerial autonomy - the pivot of the reform that bears his name - which allowed the revival of many jewels of culture, from the National Galleries of the Marche to the Museum of Capodimonte, which today are in a good position in the top ten of the 30 most visited museums. "A few years after the reform of the museums - he says - the extraordinary results are seen more and more thanks to the work of the directors and all the staff".
If the number of visitors this year for the first time after years of constant growth has not increased, the revenues for the state coffers have nevertheless grown, with a + 5% which is equivalent to an increase of about 12 million euros, in part due to the new tariff plans of the three big Colosseum, Uffizi and Pompeii. "More collections mean more resources for protection and research, museum services" Franceschini then reiterates announcing that it will continue "on the path of innovation".
In the top 30, which has always been the lion's share in terms of number of visitors and collections, there are confirmations and news. With more than positive cases from the National Galleries of the Marche (+ 36.8% admissions) and the circuit of Neapolitan museums (Capodimonte Museum + 34.2%, Castel Sant'Elmo + 18.7%, Palazzo Reale + 11%, Mann Archaeological Museum from 616 thousand to 670 thousand visitors) but also of the Baths of Caracalla in Rome (+ 10.9%) and the Miramare Museum in Trieste (+ 10.7%). On the other, the most disappointing situations concern the Reggia di Venaria (which loses 120 thousand visitors), the Reggia di Caserta (which loses 125 thousand people) and in Florence the Gallerie del Bargello (which lose 60 thousand visitors) while in Rome the Galleria Borghese sees its attendance decrease by about 40 thousand units.
Among the records reported by the experts of the ministry also that of the Pantheon in Rome, where the ticket is not paid and where the visitors were in 2019 more than 9 million (+ 4% compared to 2018). And then Matera, which despite not entering the top 30, with the year of culture has seen the number of admissions in its museum grow by 50 thousand units (+ 20%).
As for the partial and temporary suppression of free Sundays, the negative impact on the total number of visitors has undoubtedly been there, but according to statisticians Mibact has affected the small museums more, already disadvantaged at the start also by being away from most popular tourist routes. Finally, among the regions, the primacy of Lazio is confirmed, absolute queen of the top, followed by Campania which with the newfound success of Pompeii and the new appeal of many Neapolitan institutes has now structurally overtaken Tuscany, third ahead of Lombardy.