The director of the Uffizi, who almost became the head of the Vienna KHM, moves to the Museo di Capodimonte
The director of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Eike Schmidt – once appointed director of Vienna’s Museum of Art History but never taking up the post – is moving to Naples. At the end of his second term in Florence, the German was appointed director of the Capodimonte Museum in Naples, the Ministry of Culture in Rome announced. The appointment is part of a complex personnel restructuring, as part of which a total of 12 museum organizations are getting new leadership. The right-wing government led by Giorgio Meloni continues to appoint native Italians to top positions in cultural institutions. Before that, there was a wave of international appointments, including Schmidt and Austrian museum professionals such as Peter Aufreiter (currently head of the Technical Museum in Vienna) and Peter Assmann (most recently at the Tyrolean State Museums) who left for Italy.
Schmidt – who recently became an Italian citizen and was rumored to have ambitions to become mayor of Florence – would not be legally eligible for a third term at the Uffizi. Now in Naples, he replaces the Frenchman Sylvain Bellengerè, who has led the Capodimonte Museum in Naples since 2015. His successor at the Uffizi will be Simone Verde, who is currently responsible for the museum and monument complex in the city of Parma.
“Schmidt is one of the most important museum directors. He directed the Uffizi, one of the largest museums in the world, and has great international experience,” commented the Italian Minister of Culture Gennaro Sangiuliano on the appointment. The Uffizi Gallery in Florence recorded five million visitors in 2023. This is a new record compared to the previous high of around 4.3 million in the pre-pandemic year of 2019. This corresponds to an increase of almost 50 percent compared to 2015, the museum announced. The record was also reported in terms of revenue of 60 million euros. That’s up 70 percent from 35 million in 2022.
“Think About It In The Sun”
By the way, Schmidt commented on his ambitions for the office of mayor of Florence for the newspaper “Corriere di Mezzogiorno”. The rumor arose because passers-by approached him on the street and asked him to stay in Florence. The candidacy is “extremely hypothetical” and under no circumstances will he distribute his agenda to Naples and Florence, Schmidt said, the museum requires his full attention. However, he did not definitively rule out candidacy in Florence – “he will think about it in January, in the sun of Naples”. Anyone familiar with Schmidt’s Viennese history cannot completely rule out surprise.
The Capodimonte Museum in Naples displays exhibits of Italian and Neapolitan cultural heritage as well as an extensive picture gallery. The collection focuses on oil paintings from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, including major works by Masaccio, Sandro Botticelli, Raphael, Titian, Caravaggio, El Greco, Pieter Bruegel the Elder and Luca Giordano.
The museum is housed in the Reggia di Capodimonte palace. It was originally the summer residence of the Bourbons in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies just outside the city and overlooks the city. Goethe observed the eruption of Mount Vesuvius from the top floor of the palace on June 2, 1787 and described it in his book “The Italian Journey”.
