On the panoramic terrace of the MARC – National Archaeological Museum of Reggio Calabria, the 2026-2028 Strategic Plan was unveiled. This day “marks a new path for the future,” according to director Fabrizio Sudano, who emotionally introduced the year-long analysis and strategy work to an audience of journalists and cultural and industrial figures.
The Strategic Plan, a three-year programming document, is increasingly oriented towards innovative management models, serving as a fundamental tool for defining the identity, objectives, and development of cultural institutions. It aims to move beyond fragmented interventions and build a unified, programmed vision of costs and timelines, transforming the museum from a mere repository into an active cultural ecosystem.
The United Kingdom, France, and Germany lead in strategic plans, which are regularly published and focus on economic sustainability, digitalization, and social inclusion. Even the United States updates its plans every three to five years, disseminating them online and diverging from the European model by operating as a private non-profit entity, balancing cultural missions with economic viability.
This management approach is not widespread in Italy. While established institutions like the Uffizi Galleries or the National Archaeological Museum of Naples work to strengthen their already firm leadership, the National Archaeological Museum of Reggio Calabria is taking a new look at the future for the first time.
The MArRC’s 2026-2028 Strategic Plan, developed by director Fabrizio Sudano, benefits from the collaboration of Ludovico Solima, a professor of Cultural Enterprise Management at the University of Campania Vanvitelli, and Massimo Osanna, Director of Museums for the Ministry of Culture, along with museum staff. This marks a paradigm shift: moving beyond mere preservation to an integrated vision that aims to transform the museum into a cultural hub of the Mediterranean. This ambitious goal translates into a strong focus on the territory, inclusion, and active public participation.
Unlike major museums, where the central theme is often managing mass tourism flows and brand consolidation, the Reggio Calabria museum is at a different stage: building its international positioning and becoming a reference point for the history of Magna Graecia, with the Riace Bronzes as its identity core. In this regard, the strategic plan not only programs activities but also aims to be a tool for territorial development, adopting an approach closer to contemporary museological models. These models emphasize accessibility (physical and digital), quality (content excellence and hospitality), vitality (innovation and engagement), research (knowledge and preservation), environmental, economic, and social sustainability, and transparency in its ethical relationship with citizens and institutions.
The public is no longer just a recipient but an active participant in the construction of the cultural experience. Digital innovation and heritage enhancement are tools to strengthen ties with the community and open up new international networks. The museum intends to strengthen its connection with the city, the Strait of Messina area, and the Calabria region, contributing to the cultural, tourist, and social development of the area. The museum’s panoramic terrace visually encompasses these realities, highlighting the beauty of the location while acknowledging the challenges of isolation that the city faces daily.
This difference in approach is also reflected in the economic and managerial aspects. While museums like the Uffizi or MANN, being more centrally located and accessible, can rely on substantial resources and high financial autonomy, the Calabrian museum operates in a more fragile context, where attracting funds and building partnerships becomes a central challenge. However, precisely in this condition lies the opportunity for the museum to become internationally appealing.
The strategic plan of the National Archaeological Museum of Reggio Calabria appears less bound by large-scale logic and more open to experimenting with sustainable and inclusive models. It is a courageous laboratory for testing new forms of relationships between the museum, territory, and public. Strategic planning allows for a people-centered approach, making the museum open and welcoming. Museum strategy is no longer an abstract ideal but becomes an applied science with achievable objectives.
The museum is set to undertake ten key activities: completion of PNRR interventions; a digital platform dedicated to the Riace Bronzes; a new exhibition layout for the Bronze Room; a major exhibition on Magna Graecia; a community calendar for networked events; publication of a new museum guide; refunctionalization of the Roof Garden; restoration and exhibition of the Terreti Stuccoes; a pilot project for the Locri Epizefiri depot; and restoration of the necropolis at level E.
Strategic and operational objectives, a clear vision, and monitoring of implementation timelines will ensure transparency throughout all phases of the Plan, making it a dynamic document and a common basis for internal dialogue. The step taken by MARC marks a clear, important, and necessary direction. The 2026-2028 Plan not only outlines objectives but redefines the very role of the institution: from a custodian of the past to an active protagonist of the present, capable of impacting the future of the territory.
The challenge now will be to transform ambition into concrete results, maintaining coherence between vision and implementation in a complex but potential-rich context. If it can sustain this path with continuity and openness, MArRC can truly establish itself as an innovative model in the Italian museum system, demonstrating that even areas considered peripheral can become driving centers of culture, participation, and development.
