Bergamo

Accademia Carrara: a museum model between past and future

From private collecting to cultural co-leadership: how the institution combines protection, innovation and dual governance to meet challenges

by Maria Adelaide Marchesoni

3 July 2025

5' min read

Key points

The dual model
Museum numbers

5' min read

With a rich collection that covers a time span from the 14th to the 19th century, thanks to masterpieces by artists such as Pisanello, Mantegna, Bellini, Botticelli, Raffaello, Lotto, Moroni, Tiziano, Hayez and Pellizza da Volpedo, as well as a collection of drawings, prints and figurative arts, the Accademia Carrara di Bergamo, founded on a private bequest, is the museum of Italian collecting, thanks to the important donations of more than 260 donors, who continue to expand its holdings. The latest one, the Bonifichi donation, has enriched the institute's path in the pictorial panorama of the 18th century, making the presence of authors from Bergamo even more complete.

Until 31 August, on the 500th anniversary of Lorenzo Lotto's departure from Bergamo, the museum's spaces host the exhibition "Dentro Lorenzo Lotto", a preservation and enhancement project dedicated to the "Pala di San Bernardino", following the prolonged closure of the church for consolidation works, enriched by the photographs of Axel Hütte, a photographer belonging to the famous Dusseldorf School who in recent years has dedicated himself to photographing church interiors.

The historical and artistic heritage of the Accademia Carrara is managed by the Fondazione Accademia Carrara, which, since its inception, has chosen a management model inspired by the private world, even though it is a public heritage since the collection

belongs to the Municipality of Bergamo.

Gianpietro Bonaldi, general manager, e Maria Luisa Pacelli, direttrice Accademia Carrara

The dual model

The idea is simple but sometimes uncomfortable, and few realities on the Italian scene have undertaken it. The theme is to manage a museum by focusing on conservation, enhancement and innovation with a dual or collaborative leadership model, also based on the principle that, in a future full of uncertainties, it is increasingly difficult for a single individual to possess all the skills and abilities needed to lead a complex organisation. As various international experts point out, co-leadership allows one to think big and achieve results that exceed the capabilities of the individual. In the case of the Accademia Carrara in Bergamo, the dual model sees Maria Luisa Pacelli, an art historian, at the helm of the museum since last December and for the next four years, while the operational management is entrusted to Gianpietro Bonaldi, the museum's general manager.

"Since 2015," explains Gianpietro Bonaldi, "the year of the museum's reopening after eight years of closure due to work on the building, the governance of the Accademia Carrara has been in the majority entrusted to private-law entities, which work alongside the municipality, which owns the assets and which expresses the president of the private foundation that manages the museum. A rather rare configuration in the panorama of public property management in Italy; the private partners are companies that join the Foundation through membership fees of varying amounts, with a three-year commitment'.

"This duration," continues the general manager, "makes it possible to guarantee coherent and sustainable cultural and operational programming in the medium term. In addition to the contribution of the municipality, which provides an economic endowment equal to about 30% of the overall annual requirement, without further intervention, the remaining requirements are covered through various sources: ticketing, fees paid by partners, fundraising activities, sponsorships, contributions and donations. "I would also like to emphasise," continues Bonaldi, "that the private nature of the management allows for greater dynamism and a higher capacity to respond to the sector's logics, enabling agreements to be signed quickly and in a more efficient manner than a traditional public management; in this way guaranteeing and making the museum's 'core' activities, conservation and valorisation, solid".

For her part, the new director brings with her many years of experience in museum management, gained in contexts with different management models. "Ever since 1999, in Ferrara," explains Maria Luisa Pacelli, "I have worked in a dual system between public administration and participated company, which has proved effective in the enhancement of heritage and cultural production; even in more rigid state contexts, I have been able to see the limits and advantages of the different approaches, and I believe that the success of a model does not depend on the structure, but on those who interpret it with responsibility and cultural vision. "In order to achieve sustainable results," Pacelli continues, "it is essential to plan over a broad time horizon; a two-year programme allows not only to raise funds, but also to build the loyalty of the territory and partners, showing a clear and consistent direction. In Bergamo, a city that is attentive to culture, it is crucial to transparently demonstrate the objectives pursued, through concrete services, especially educational ones, which must also include research activities; great attention must be paid to young people, a public that is difficult to involve, in order to make the museum an attractive place for the new generations as well".

Lorenzo Lotto, «Ritrattodi Lucina Brembati», 1521-1523 circa, Accademia Carrara, Bergamo

Museum numbers

During 2024, investments were completed to improve the visitor experience through the completion of the restoration of the gardens, a green space of approximately 3,000 square metres, and the creation of the bistro (Bù Bistrot), inaugurated last September. The investment borne by the Foundation amounted to approximately Euro 547,000, net of the technical sponsorship received from Edison Next in the amount of Euro 145,000, and concerned the garden installations, and the purchase of furniture, furnishings and equipment for the bistrot. The landscaping of the vast green area, now PwC Gardens, was also carried out thanks to the contribution of PwC (250 thousand euro for the title and another 250 thousand euro for the three-year structural partnership 2022-2024).

On the profit and loss account, the 2024 financial year ended with an operating deficit of €262,670 (a slightly smaller deficit in 2023, at €246,009) due for approximately €160,000 to charges that will not be repeated and relating in particular to the cancellation of the "Authentic and Copied" exhibition following the changes in the museum's management and the definition of a labour relationship. The income statement, as in 2023, is also affected by charges (€300,000) related to depreciation for the refurbishment of the museum, for plant, furniture and equipment related to the restoration of the gardens and the construction of the bistro, and for interest expenses (approximately €51,000) related to the loan taken out for the aforementioned investments. Total revenues amounted to €3.4 million (€4.6 million in 2023), of which €1.04 million came from public resources, in particular from the Municipality of Bergamo for €0.9 million, contributions from private individuals for €925,117 and €495,586 from sponsorships. Income from the management of the museum amounted to 600,628 euro, of which 501,170 euro from the ticket office, in addition to 136,373 euro for space rental, travelling exhibition rental, right to use images and summer campuses.

On the asset side, the museum has a net worth of EUR 1.67 million, down from 2023 (EUR 1.9 million) due to the deficit, which was in line with forecast expectations. As far as financial aspects are concerned, the 'Foundation,' reads the report, 'has regularly repaid its loan instalments and was able to meet the investments made in 2024 with its own resources, demonstrating how robust and capitalised the institution is'.