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It is not easy to fill the Botticellis, Leonardos and Caravaggios halls with life again when you know for sure that an increase in the number of infections could mean another closure at any time.
"And yet it is worth taking this risk, because art is a social need."
And so Eike Schmidt, the director of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, welcomes the reopening of the museums in the yellow protection zone both enthusiastically and realistically, even if “his” museums will still need a few more days for the restart: “We still have to agree deal with a complex legal process related to third-party staff that needs to be recalled by the discharge fund. "
In the meantime, at least the Boboli Gardens are to be reopened.
The open arcade of the “Loggia dei Lanzi”, the “Sala en plen air” of the Uffizi, which is normally only visible to the visitors who stay under the Palazzo Vecchio, is now open again and enables Cellini and admire Giambologna up close.
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WORLD:
Mr. Schmidt, even after the first lockdown, life in the Uffizi began again from the loggia.
This time, however, under slightly different circumstances.
Eike Schmidt:
The reopening in June took place after the number of infections had subsided and at the time of a restart that almost seemed like a return to normal.
Today, on the other hand, there are still several hundred reports per day, and it is obvious that we have an uncertain future ahead of us.
But after two and a half months when museums were closed, a great need for culture can be felt on social media.
Not to mention the employees: those of the operators who are in the discharge fund, and also our supervisory staff who are forced to sit in empty halls without a soul.
WORLD:
Isn't such a hiccup at the reopening more annoying than a closure?
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Schmidt:
The works of art that we keep here are the property of the Italians, who must therefore also have the opportunity to enjoy them.
Of course, the specter of a possible renewed closure hangs in the room, and the ban on moving between the different rooms will certainly increase the number of visitors, which the President of the Council of Ministers decided at a maximum of 450 visitors at the same time kept lower.
But even under these conditions, the reopening is a certain consolation in this emotionally difficult situation.
Like the BBC concerts that were broadcast from the National Gallery during the war.
As a kind of therapy for the people and the soldiers.
WORLD:
How were the visitor numbers in the months of the reopening, from June to October?
Schmidt:
We don't have any official figures yet, but I can tell you that they were above expectations.
We know there was both anticipation and great fear.
At first we expected that only a few people would show up a day for the first two weeks, but as soon as people saw that the risk of infection had decreased and we - like all museums - could guarantee a maximum level of security that was higher than in other public buildings , we noticed an increase in visitor numbers.
The visit of the influencer Chiara Ferragni and also the inclusion of the Uffizi at TikTok ensured that more young people came.
It is their cultural heritage, and if they do not identify with it today, it will be difficult for future generations to preserve.
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WORLD: In
view of fewer visitors and the considerable investments in security, is the budget at great risk?
Schmidt:
In the next two months we will certainly not be able to cover the expenses with the income.
In spring, however, when the infection with the virus subsides, we should achieve a permanent equilibrium again, as we did in 2020. The right to culture is guaranteed by the constitution.
But I remember - and I am sure that I am making a lot of enemies - that the art venues are not allowed to return to the previous enormous pressure from mass tourism.
We should use this moment to develop new strategies, such as widespread art distribution in museums.
In the digital way?
That would be a nice step in the democratization of art heritage.
Even if an original is of course something completely different.
This text comes from the newspaper cooperation Leading European Newspaper Alliance (LENA).
In addition to WELT, she owns the Italian newspaper “La Repubblica”, “El País” from Spain, “... Le Figaro” from France, “Gazeta Wyborcza” from Poland, “Le Soir” from Belgium and “La Tribune de Genève ”and“ Tages-Anzeiger ”.
Source: WORLD infographic