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One appointment and two resignations on the great stage of Pompeii. On Saturday February 20, the Minister of Culture (name decided by Mario Draghi) Dario Franceschini announced the new director of the Pompeii Archaeological Park after the seven dense years of Massimo Osanna, now general director of the Museums: the current manager of the Archaeological Park of Paestum and Velia, Gabriel Zuchtriegel, born 1981, new Italian citizen since 2020 but born in Weingarten, Germany, married and father of two: studied classical archeology, prehistory and Greek philology in Berlin, Rome and Bonn. He was the youngest of the directors appointed with the first international public procedure in 2015. And now the person in charge of the immense machine in Pompeii is just forty years old, a record.
So far the quote. And here is the resignation, in controversy with Franceschini’s decision. Two of the four members of the Park’s Scientific Council have resigned: Irene Bragantini, archaeologist, 73, for years a chartered column at the Faculty of Archeology in the East of Naples and famous for its excavations in the desert of eastern Egypt, and Stefano De Caro, a well-known name in the world of archeology, 70 years old, former director of the Pompeii Excavations Office between 1978 and 1984, former director general of the archaeological heritage of the ministry. Immediate and irrevocable resignation presented with deep disappointment to CEO Massimo Osanna: We believe that the minimum conditions do not exist to collaborate with his successor. Point.
The reasons? Irene Bragantini prefers silence. De Caro very clear: With colleague Bragantini we learned with perplexity of the appointment. An unusual decision. His curriculum does not have the necessary depth in the field of restoration of Roman painting and construction as one would expect from a director from Pompeii. He spent less than a year in the technical secretariat of Pompeii and then went to Paestum, which has a different profile. It is difficult for him to have enough experience to decide, manage and direct conservation and especially restorations, where it is very easy to make mistakes but commit millions and millions. The commission will have evaluated the curriculum but we do not know the criteria. We prefer to take a step back rather than open a chapter of controversy.
Massimo Osanna, in his response, hints at a possible generational conflict between the new forty-year-old director and the two who resign: the fact that Zuchtriegel is barely forty I don’t think could be a reason not to consider him up to par. In fact, I think it is a value and a great sign of openness to the new generations. I don’t understand the controversy. Zuchtriegel has an excellent scientific resume, in Paestum he did very well and in Pompeii he will ensure a management of the site in full continuity with what I have done in recent years for the great project.
Franceschini very convinced of the appointment: Gabriel Zuchtriegel in recent years has changed Paestum with the increase in visitors and the reopening of many places. The budget has grown a lot and Paestum has also become a model of great change. Today his results are available for Pompeii.
The minister chose in a final to three that came after the examination of 44 candidates, of which 10 foreigners: the other two were Renata Picone, professor of Restoration at the Federico II University of Naples, and Francesco Sirano, director of the Herculaneum archaeological park since 2017. The examining commission was chaired by the president emeritus of the Constitutional Court and the new Minister of Justice, Marta Cartabia (the works were already finished before the launch of the Draghi government).
Zuchtriegel now looks to the future: top priority for maintenance (Never let your guard down, says Osanna’s motto, which closes with pride claiming seven years of commitment and success), discover new excavations in the 20 hectares that remain to be discovered but they will be done when necessary, they are not the priority, we have a lot of material to study. Next, Osanna and Zuchtriegel announce drones and sensors for a large preventative maintenance project; a digital library for immediate sharing of research based on a public archeology model; the relaunch of so-called minor sites like Stabia, Oplontis, Boscoreale; the remodeling of the surroundings and the commitment to sustainable tourism, rethinking the hospitality industry in the face of post-Covid.
With the appointment of Zuchtriegel, Pompeii also has a headline who comes from abroad with the international competitions desired by Franceschini in 2015. The Englishman James Bradburne in Brera, the German Eike Schmidt in the Uffizi, the Frenchman Sylvain Bellenger in the Museum and the Royal Wood of the Capodimonte Palace were reconfirmed for another term in October 2019. The German Cecilie Hollberg returned to direct the Galleria dell’Accademia in Florence in January 2020 after the suppression of the direction decided by the former Minister Alberto Bonisoli. In 2019 two directors left: the Austrians Peter Aufreiter, in Urbino, and Peter Assman, in Mantua.
Feb 20, 2021 (change Feb 20, 2021 | 20:54)
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