Italy’s culture minister Gennaro Sangiuliano has designated Italian journalist and writer Pietrangelo Buttafuocoas the new president of the Venice Biennale, the foundation that oversees the Venice Film Festival.
Buttafuoco (pictured above, left), an openly right-wing member of Italy’s cultural establishment known to be an eclectic thinker, is now set to replace former film producer Roberto Cicutto (pictured, right)at the Biennale’s helm when Cicutto’s four-year mandate expires in March 2024. Buttafuoco’s appointment still needs to be ratified by the culture commissions of Italy’s chamber of deputies and senate, but this is considered a mere formality.
Besides the film festival, the Venice Biennale foundation oversees other renowned events in the spheres of visual arts, music, architecture, dance and theater, making it one of the world’s most prestigious cultural institutions.
Buttafuoco taking the Biennale reins is not expected to immediately impact management of the Venice Film Festival, since its artistic director Alberto Barbera has one more year left on his contract. But whether Barbera will stay on after the fest’s 2024 edition is indeed an open question.
Buttafuoco, who began his journalistic career at the right-wingSecolo d’Italia newspaper, has since become a contributor to Italian press outlets of different stripes, including top dailies Corriere della Sera, La Repubblica and financial paper Il Sole 24 Ore. He is the author of seven novels and has previously held management positions as president of the Teatro Stabile theatre in Catania, Sicily, which is his hometown, and served as a board member of Italy’s state film entity Istituto Luce.
Buttafuoco’s appointment as Venice Biennale chief is being hailed as a big breakthrough by members of Italy’s right-wing government, since historically positions of power within the country’s arts institutions have been held by leftists. The opposition is instead calling it part of the ongoing right-wing takeover of key posts of this type, following other recent disruptive management moves they’ve made at state broadcaster RAI and Italy’s national film school, the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia.
However, Francesco Rutelli — Rome’s former leftist major who now heads Italy’s motion picture association ANICA — told Italian news agency ANSA that he was confident that Buttafuoco will “promote the richness and pluralism of what is one of the greatest cultural institutions in the world, and among the oldest.”
He added, “Historically, the Biennale’s strength has been that it’s a great instrument of freedom and I am certain that Buttafuoco, who is a free spirit, will be able to continue on this path.”
