Since 2014, more autonomy has been granted to a group of Italian state-owned museums. The Bank of Italy conducted a survey of the initiatives taken to improve the offer of services in the museums that were given more autonomy relative to a control group. Our work covers four areas of museum services: the conservation of artistic heritage, the accessibility of the museum's premises, visitor orientation, and relations with stakeholders.
After the 2014 reform, the services offered by autonomous museums expanded more markedly in the areas most related to the user satisfaction. The improvements regard the accessibility of the museum's premises (e.g. the adjustment of opening hours) and visitor orientation (e.g. the enhancement of informational services concerning the collections). The autonomous museums also experienced a higher increase in the number of visitors compared with the other museums.
