Policy

Sgarbi: 'I resign as undersecretary with immediate effect. Sangiuliano is a man without dignity'

'I will inform the premier in the next few hours,' he said. 'I received a letter from the Antitrust: on the basis of two anonymous missives I cannot hold a conference at Porro. I thank Meloni for not asking me anything'. On 15 February, the Chamber of Deputies was to debate the opposition's motion asking the government to revoke the art critic's appointment as undersecretary.

2 February 2024

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Governo, Sgarbi: "Mi dimetto da sottosegretario alla Cultura"

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Key points

"My resignation a stroke of theatre"
Sgarbi, Sangiuliano is a man without dignity
"I thank Meloni for not asking me anything"
Opposition motion
Investigation in Macerata for money laundering
Under-secretary lecturer in Antitrust crosshairs
Sgarbi's defence

5' min read

In the end he leaves, and announces his 'irrevocable' resignation even before having presented it to Giorgia Meloni. Vittorio Sgarbi will no longer be undersecretary for Culture and leaves, thanking the Prime Minister, 'who asked me for nothing', but pointing the finger at his minister, Gennaro Sangiuliano, whom he does not hesitate to call 'a man without dignity'. The art critic's farewell - the second for the government, after that of Augusta Montaruli, convicted for embezzlement - is an epilogue that makes the majority breathe a sigh of relief.

"I am resigning with immediate effect as government undersecretary and I will communicate this in the next few hours to Meloni," Sgarbi announced on the sidelines of an event in Milan. "I resign and I do it for you," he explained to the audience that was following his lecture on Michelangelo as part of the event in Milan "La ripartenza - liberi di pensare", organised by Nicola Porro. "The Antitrust Authority," he added, "has sent a very complex and confusing letter saying that, having accepted two anonymous letters sent to the Antitrust Authority by the Minister of Culture, I cannot give a lecture at Porro's.

"My resignation a coup de theatre"

"It is a coup de theatre, I have been meditating for two hours whether to do it or not". Thus Sgarbi after announcing his resignation as undersecretary of Culture, speaking during the event 'La ripartenza'. 'The law,' he continued, 'allows me, through the Tar, to point out those things that I have said,' that is, 'that those who do not have a job, those who are not actors, those who are not professors, those who are retired as professors and as superintendents cannot be in conflict of interest,' he added, emphasising that 'I have occasionally held conferences like this one. This conference,' he explained, 'according to what the Antitrust sent me, would be incompatible, illicit, outlawed'. So, 'to avoid you all being accomplices to an offence, I speak from this moment free of my mandate as undersecretary. You still have a minister and other undersecretaries,' he concluded, 'I will leave and from now on I will be able to go on TV and give lectures'.

Sgarbi, Sangiuliano is a man without dignity

"I haven't heard from Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano, we haven't spoken since 23 October when he gave me the delegation to go and deal with the Garisenda. I could not hear a person who receives an anonymous letter and sends it to the Antitrust Authority. Anonymous letters are thrown away, men who have dignity do not receive anonymous letters'. Thus Sgarbi after announcing his resignation as undersecretary. "The Antitrust says 'from the anonymous letters we received', the minister sent them. Everything they said came from anonymous letters,' Sgarbi said.

Speaking on Prima di domani on Retequattro, the art critic clarified: 'I have received the Antitrust Authority's decision, moreover without sanctions, that my consulting activities or book presentations are incompatible with my role as undersecretary'. The decision 'calls into question these activities of mine but not through an action of recognition of this activity but through an anonymous letter' but 'I did not say that Sangiuliano is without dignity but that those who send anonymous letters are without dignity. Sangiuliano only reported them, he was the messenger of the anonymous,' Sgarbi added.

"I thank Meloni for not asking me anything"

Sgarbi thanked the government 'and in particular Meloni for not asking me for anything, not even this resignation, and for saying to wait for the Antitrust's indication. The indication arrived, you can challenge it, but it arrived. At this point I take myself off the stage, I thank Meloni and my government colleagues, because they did not ask for an advance,' Sgarbi added, emphasising that 'until today Meloni has always been a guarantor. Right now I am not asking her for anything, I will send her the letter this evening'.

The oppositions' motion

On 15 February, the Chamber of Deputies was to debate the movement of the oppositions to ask the government to revoke the position of undersecretary to Sgarbi. Exactly on the same day that the Antitrust Authority is expected to rule on the incompatibility between his extra-governmental activities and the role he holds at the Mibact. According to information, the proceedings may have already been closed and in the early days of next week, perhaps on Monday itself, the conclusions could be announced.

Macerata investigation for money laundering

The art critic is under investigation by the Prosecutor's Office of Macerata for laundering cultural property for the painting attributed to the 17th-century painter Rutilio Manetti (1571-1639), one of the leading exponents of the 17th century in Siena, stolen in 2013 from Buriasco Castle near Pinerolo and reappeared in Lucca in 2021, as an unpublishedand seized on 12 January from the undersecretary. At the centre of the affair is the large 17th-century canvas depicting "a judge condemning a man with a venerable face in the profile of St. Peter by an unknown author - according to the Carabinieri's report - reminiscent of the painters Solimena and Cavallino, the proceeds of a theft in the castle of Buriasco (Turin) reported by the owner Margherita Buzio on 14 February 2013 to the Vigone Carabinieri". The charge for Sgarbi is having carried out on the same painting, in conspiracy with unknown persons, 'operations aimed at obstructing its criminal provenance, by having a torch inserted in the top left-hand corner of the canvas, attributing the work to the painter Rutilio Manetti entitled "The Capture of St. Peter" and claiming ownership of the painting'. Sgarbi explained that he found it in a property purchased by the Cavallini-Sgarbi foundation. The work was then exhibited in 2021, presented as an unpublished work by Rutilio Manetti, in Lucca in the exhibition curated by Sgarbi entitled 'The Painters of Light'.

Under-secretary lecturer in Antitrust crosshairs

Participations in conferences, exhibition openings, the sale of books. These are Sgarbi's activities that ended up in the Antitrust's crosshairs. The investigation was opened last October after reports came from the Ministry of Culture concerning possible incompatibility with government office. The proceedings have reportedly already been closed and the conclusions could be announced early next week, perhaps on Monday. Sgarbi himself explained that he had received a letter from the Authority 'which had received two anonymous letters, invited by the Minister of Culture'. In short,' he continued, 'the indication has arrived. It can be challenged, but it has arrived'. On the other hand, some indications had already filtered through from the resolution with which the Agcm had launched the investigation, according to which the activities carried out by Sgarbi could have been in conflict with the provisions of the Frattini law on conflict of interest. The law establishes that a holder of government office, in the performance of his duties, cannot 'engage in professional activities in matters connected with the office of government, of any nature whatsoever, even if free of charge' and that he can 'only receive income for services performed before taking office'.

Sgarbi's defence

Sgarbi had defended himself by claiming that his case did not fall under this heading, emphasising that there was no act signed by him, even just a letter, with which he could have facilitated his interests. After the opening of the investigation, the Antitrust Authority had extended the investigation to the sale of his books with personalised dedication on his website, because - it was explained - 'they could integrate the extremes of significant entrepreneurial activity'. The first details of the investigation were given by Il Fatto Quotidiano, in an article last October in which it explained that Sgarbi had earned "at least 300,000 euro, from February to date alone" for conferences, speeches and television appearances. The money - the article claimed - 'is for the undersecretary Sgarbi, but is also given to his head secretary and his partner', in what the newspaper defined as 'a real industry founded on the art of procuring activities that are also carried out in the light of day, but whose remuneration remains in the shadows'.