New Accademia & Bargello Director

On July 16, Italy’s Minister of Culture, Alessandro Giuli, announced the appointment of several key museum directors throughout the country. Among these was Andreina Contessa, who is set to lead both the Accademia Gallery and the Bargello museums in Florence. The two have previously been led by separate directors, and so Contessa’s appointment signals the first time these shall have a united leadership.

Andreina Contessa, who is originally from Brescia, is an expert in Jewish art, after having spent many years living in Jerusalem and receiving her PhD from the Hebrew University of the city. She is an art historian and scholar, specialising in museology, digital cataloguing, and multimedia, and has had much experience as a museum curator.

From 2017 to 2024, she was director of the Historical Museum and Park of Miramare Castle in Trieste, where she was credited with carrying out a number of important renovations. Some of these include restoring the 19th century Habsburg Castle, expanding public access to the grounds, and creating new enticing exhibitions.

Since May of 2020, she was also in charge of all the museums in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, as well as the Miramare Castle, and this vast responsibility has equipped her with plenty of experience as she takes on this new role.

On her appointment, Contessa said, “Per me rappresenta un coronamento di un sogno, un grande onore, ricoprire un incarico così importante in una città come Firenze, che è unica e che richiede un’attenzione particolare anche dal punto di vista culturale e museale” (“For me, it represents the crowning of a dream, a great honour to hold such an important position in a city like Florence, which is unique and which also requires special attention from a cultural and museum point of view”).

The Bargello museums consist of the Bargello National Museum, the Medici Chapels, Palazzo Davanzati, and Orsanmichele, whilst the Gallery of the Academy of Florence is a single gallery, home to Michelangelo’s David, with visitors travelling miles to see this masterpiece. The gallery is smaller than the city’s famous Uffizi Gallery, but focuses specifically on the period 1300-1600 and is home to the work of many renowned Florentine artists. It was the second-most-visited art museum in Italy in 2016, with 1.46 million people flocking to see its impressive collection, whilst the first-most-visited was the Uffizi Gallery and so it is clear that Florence holds great cultural and historical importance when it comes to art.

Some of the other appointments made by Minister Giuli, alongside Contessa, include Francesco Sirano for the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, Federica Rinaldi for the National Roman Museum, and Paola D’Agostino for the Royal Museums of Turin. These changes are part of the Minister of Culture’s efforts to improve the museums of Italy, and to encourage a greater number of visitors.  (Scarlet Claydon-Jones)