With the 'Italy on stage' reform compensation for museum board members, but not for scientific committees

In a summer that promises to be intense for the art sector and the debate on cultural policies, the bill 'Italia in scena', signed by the Honourable Federico Mollicone. Among the most important innovations for the museum sector is art. 4, paragraph 4, which introduces the possibility of recognising remuneration and attendance fees for members of the boards of directors of state museums. Alongside the reimbursement of expenses already provided for councillors who do not reside in the city where the museum is located, the regulation aims to introduce forms of economic compensation that incentivise the effectiveness, efficiency and quality of museum governance. A change of step that, if approved, would sanction a symbolic and operational turning point in the professional development of the governing bodies of cultural institutions.

The determination of the criteria, limits and amounts will be entrusted to a decree of the Minister of Culture, to be adopted in agreement with the Minister of Economy and Finance within four months of the law coming into force. The decree will have to respect the principles of proportionality and congruity, taking into account the complexity and specificity of the tasks, as well as the transparency and uniformity of the procedures.

This is a significant novelty: until now, in fact, pursuant to Articles 11 and 12 of the Ministerial Decree of 23 December 2014 (as amended by the Ministerial Decree of 14 October 2015), participation in boards and scientific committees did not entitle members to any remuneration, token or allowance. Only reimbursement, of documented travel expenses was provided for members not resident in the museum's municipality.

The proposal therefore introduces an attendance fee that will only affect members of the Boards, leaving out the Scientific Committees, without providing an explanation for this exclusion. Moreover, the previous legislation, i.e. that Article 11 Ministerial Decree of 23 December 2014 or Article 1(1)(a) Ministerial Decree of 14 October 2015, is neither mentioned nor repealed, raising interpretative doubts as to its coexistence with the new provisions.

Another question concerns the financial coverage: while the 2014 decree clearly indicated that the reimbursement of expenses would be borne by the museum's budget ('from the budget of the institute'), Mr Mollicone's proposal does not clarify where the funds for the fees will be drawn from. Will there be ad hoc appropriations? Or will resources be drained from the museums' already tight budgets? On this point, we will also have to wait for the opinion of the Court of Auditors. Finally, the timing does not seem coincidental. The members of the BoDs of the main autonomous museums - such as the Uffizi Galleries, the Pinacoteca di Brera, the Archaeological Park of Pompeii, the National Archaeological Museum of Naples (MANN), the National Archaeological Museum of Taranto (MArTA) and twenty-five other institutes indicated in the table - have been appointed ("for about five years") by ministerial decrees to expire at the end of the year or at the beginning of 2026. The next round of appointments will therefore be in a potentially more interesting context, with tokens and fees that could influence appetites and nominations.