Crespi: ‘Private partners are key to the growth of the Grande Brera’

At a time when public funding is decreasing whilst the resources we are required to pay back to the State are increasing, it is clear that a museum manager’s main objectives include increasing visitor numbers and fundraising, in order to boost revenue and private funding. These activities are not at odds with, but rather support, what remains our raison d’être: the conservation and promotion of our artistic heritage.

How has Brera changed under your leadership, from this point of view?

Let me give you some figures: Grande Brera comprises not only the Braidense Library, the Pinacoteca, Palazzo Citterio and the Last Supper, but also the National Museum of Digital Art, which is currently under construction, the Cavallerizza – home to the FAI – and the Mediateca, which has been closed for ten years and which we will soon be reopening. All of this will generate around 16 million euros in revenue this year, with over 11 million coming from ticket sales, and the remainder from concessions, donations, sponsorships and government funding. This figure represents an increase compared with the 15 million in 2025, but above all compared with the 6 million euros in 2024 and the 4.8 million in 2023. Visitor numbers have also risen significantly: when I arrived in 2023, the Pinacoteca di Brera recorded 463,000 admissions, generating a total of 3.5 million in ticket sales. This year we will reach 650,000 visitors, with 6 million in revenue, surpassing the Last Supper for the first time; as the number of visitors there is capped, it cannot exceed 540,000 visits. Brera, together with the Last Supper, has become – excluding archaeological sites – Italia’s third most-visited museum, after the Uffizi and the Accademia in Florence. With 200 staff and a budget in excess of 15 million, we are, in effect, a fully-fledged organisation and must act as such.

Are private contributions also on the rise? Milan has a long tradition of corporate support for culture. 

And that is indeed the case. What I have observed in my various experiences is that businesses and professionals, when actively involved in projects – particularly those of a social nature – respond even more generously than the initial request. When I arrived, in the 2023 financial statements, revenue from sponsorship and the Art Bonus scheme stood at zero euros. By 2025, we had reached 200,000 euros in sponsorship and 950,000 euros in donations, thanks above all to the ‘Patto per Brera’, which I launched in 2024 with the support of the agency Comin&Partners. It is an initiative that builds on the Art Bonus scheme and aims to create a network of patrons – individuals and companies committed to supporting the Grande Brera project – with whom we can share institutional and cultural activities. The aim is to create a cutting-edge museum in terms of its name, brand, cultural and social projects, and events, and to place Brera at the heart of the dynamic growth that Milan is currently experiencing – a growth from which we benefit and which, at the same time, we help to fuel.

Is Brera now a brand?

We are one of the city’s three main attractions, alongside the Duomo and La Scala. I was among the first, amongst Italian state museums, to register the ‘Grande Brera Milano’ trademark, which we now intend to licence out. We asked the Makno agency to calculate the brand’s value: the economic impact of Grande Brera on the Milanese economy, including all its constituent parts – such as the Academy and its students – exceeds 500 million euros a year.

Let’s get back to the agreement: how does it work?

Now that we have become a major museum hub, bringing together some of Milan’s key state-owned sites, we must present ourselves and act in a manner befitting this scale; we therefore need entrepreneurs who will support this project financially, in terms of vision and reputation. To date, we have 16 partners, from whom we request an annual contribution of 50,000 euros, renewable for the following three years, aimed at supporting specific projects with a high social impact. But they often do much more and also fund other projects, including through sponsorship. Our partners are: Sabina Belli, CEO of Pomellato; Barbara Berlusconi, Chair of the Barbara Berlusconi Foundation; Marina Caprotti, Executive Chair of Esselunga; Michele Coppola, Executive Director of Art, Culture and Historical Heritage at Intesa Sanpaolo and Director-General of Gallerie d’Italia; Giovanna Dossena, Principal at AVM SGR and AVM Associati; Fabrizio du Chène de Vère, Vice-Chairman of IGPDecaux; Ernesto Fürstenberg Fassio, Chair of Banca Ifis; Igor Garzesi, Managing Director of Banca Mediolanum; Massimo Giussani, Executive Director of the Berti Foundation; Umberta Gnutti Beretta, Chair of Holding Umberto Gnutti; Massimo La Greca, General Manager of Swarovski Italia; Andrea Mascetti, Lawyer and Founder of the Mascetti Law Firm; Francesco Micheli, Entrepreneur; Sergio Solero, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BMW Italia; Andrea Toselli, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of PwC Italia; Emanuela Trentin, CEO of Veolia Italia.

Now the special public-private partnership that you presented in mid-July will also be added. How does it differ from other forms of collaboration?

It is an interesting tool for managing certain services, for building new forms of public-private partnership which, of course, guarantee additional revenue, but above all for ensuring the enhancement of these venues. For example, we will be setting up a Design Store – the first of its kind in Italia – modelled on the MoMA in New York. This differs from traditional concessions, which we will instead renew for services such as the ticket office and bookshops. I would also like to highlight the significant contribution made by the concessions for the use of spaces, which generated €1.8 million last year.

What are your objectives for this first term of office?

Certainly, the completion of the Grande Brera project, including from the perspective of urban planning, in addition to the works already underway, which we are managing thanks to around 30 million in earmarked funds. Then there is the reopening of the Mediateca and the many social projects. But above all, the major exhibitions. We have already planned six or seven for this year, and next year that number will increase. These are ambitious goals, and to achieve them, Brera will need new partners and private supporters.