Abstract

The article analyses the essential cooperation of public bodies and private operators for the management of museums in different juridical contexts. Moving from the actual legal and institutional environment, the author introduces a comparison between the Italian and British management models in order to recommend an evolution in the national museum management perspective. The analysis is developed through the study of practical cases, such as the comparison between the National Gallery in London and La Galleria Nazionale in Rome which clearly describes the distance between the two national institutional systems and their approach to private bodies. Moreover, thanks to the example offered by the Community Foundations instrument, the article means to express a serious need for Italian museums to be considered and regulated as a common good which asks the whole national community for a firm cooperation.