The anomalies of the call for the director of the museums of Verona
The competition, launched by the Municipality of Verona, is aimed at assigning an open-ended position as “Manager in cultural services – museum management”. The tests will take place next open March 16, late compared to the originally scheduled times, due to an investigation by the Prosecutor’s Office last September 2021.
The written and oral tests will be held on March 16 to identify the next one director of the civic museums of Verona, the network of museums that includes the Natural History Museum, the Maffeiano Lapidary Museum, the Archaeological Museum at the Roman Theater, the Arena Amphitheater, the Castelvecchio Museum, the Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art, the Museum of Frescoes at the Tomb di Giulietta, Juliet’s House, the Scaliger Arches, the Art Gallery of the Loggia del Consiglio at the Palazzo della Prefettura, the Cappella dei Notai at Palazzo della Ragione, the Church of San Giorgetto and the Church of San Domenico. The call, launched last August, provides for the appointment of a director in charge for an indefinite period, to whom they are required, “management and aptitude for coordinating work capacity groups, orientation to solutions to complex problems and the management of emergencies and safety, organizational skills in identifying priorities in the planning and implementation of planned interventions, decision-making and negotiation skills, leadership, organization and management of human and financial resources“, Besides “raise specialized activities related to skills in cultural heritage and in different types of museum places and institutions“, it’s still “knowledge of the protection, management, conservation and enhancement of cultural heritage and civic collections, of exhibition criteria and strategies aimed at increasing collections, research, promotion and communication“. The administrative process, however, has suffered slowdowns and road accidents, which have made many turn up their noses, giving rise dubbing on the transparency of the competition and on anomalies justifiable.
THE PUBLIC COMPETITION OF THE CIVIC MUSEUMS OF VERONA
In fact, the announcement also states that “particular account will be taken of personnel who have exercised managerial functions within the institution, also enhancing the managerial activity carried out in the position offered“. In September 2021, the civic movement Traguardi had addressed a question to the City Council on the drafting of the text that seems to blatantly favor the figure of Francesca Rossi, current manager of the Veronese museum center since 2017; “the doubt is that it is a ‘sartorial’ call, tailor-made in short, to restrict the possibility that external applications will arrive”, Wrote the city councilor on the Traguardi website Tommaso Ferrari. The prosecutor, meanwhile, received a complaint about the competition and opened an investigation. The dates of the tests are set for December 16, 2021, but a second anomaly is expected: the commission called to judge the candidates at the time of communication has not yet been appointed. The appointment takes place on 2 December and includes only three outsiders, among which there are no figures of experts or authoritative art historians. Another hiccup? A few days before the scheduled date, the tests are canceled for unclear “organizational reasons” and rescheduled for the following February 16 with the change of a member within the jury. Giuliana Tomasella, full professor of the Department of Cultural Heritage of the University of Padua, is replaced by Daniele Jallà, former ICOM president. If the former is considered to be in conflict of interest with Francesca Rossi (she was moderator at the conference “Study day for the centenary of the birth of Licisco Magagnato” coordinated by Rossi, held on December 9, 2021 at the Palazzo della Gran Guardia in Verona), the latter also lectured during his tenure.
THE VERONA PUBLIC COMPETITION AND SYSTEM ANOMALIES
The anomalies, in short, concern the path within which the competition took place from August to now, the people involved, the conflict of interest. But also to identify the contours of the figure that the same announcement aims at, given that such an authoritative role – in whose hands the management of the most important museums in the city would be centralized – should be subject to rotation, allowing to accumulate heterogeneous professionals over time who can bring experiences diversify. Also, perhaps, coming from territories outside the Scala area (if not from abroad as is commonly done by now in all the great Italian museums), without compromising the enhancement and cultural offer of the city. Couldn’t we stop for a moment and rewrite a call taking a model that really worked?