This week in Europe, a new portal branded "Netflix for Italian culture" premiered, broadcasting programming ranging from live operas and films to virtual tours and museum exhibitions. The program seeks to promote Italian culture globally while also identifying new financial streams for cultural organizations struggling to survive the epidemic.
ITsART, which is backed by the Italian ministry of culture, launched on November 23 and is currently available in 26 countries throughout Europe before expanding to the United States and China next year.
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The platform's library has around 1,275 titles separated into three categories: "stage" for live performances, "sites" for virtual tours of historic locales and museums, and "tales" for movies and documentaries.
Much of its material is derived from its collaboration with over 100 cultural institutions in Italy. There are several notable contributors, including the Uffizi Galleries, Galleria Borghese, and the Galleria d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Roma, as well as the Peggy Guggenheim Foundation and Fondazione Prada. Additionally, audiences will be able to view performances from the Teatro alla Scala and the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma. Additionally, the site has secured a contract with Cinecittà, Italy's legendary film studio, as well as a number of film businesses and festivals.
"Our goal was to create a centralized platform for reaching a rising global audience of consumers of Italian art and culture, while also supporting the performing and visual arts," Guido Casali, CEO of ITsART, told the meida. Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, the Italian government's investment bank, owns a controlling 51 percent share in the company. The remaining ownership is held by Chili, a technology company based in Milan.
While registration is not necessary, certain titles are offered for free with advertisements. Others are pay-per-view, ranging from €2.90 ($3.25) for a film to €9.90 ($11) for a live opera.
As with the rest of the globe, the country renowned for its cuisine, culture, and beauty was heavily damaged by the epidemic, losing €121 billion ($161 billion) in 2020 as a result of travel restrictions. Due to the lockout, cultural institutions lost millions of visits.
Although tourism in Italy recovered last summer as infection rates decreased, the sector has not yet recovered to pre-Covid levels. Additionally, there is concern about the possibility of another wave of lockdown in Europe in the wake of a recent rise of Covid-19 cases. Austria and the German state of Saxony were compelled to close institutions this week.
The objective is that the platform will assist in reintroducing audiences, even if only electronically. ITsART operates on a profit-sharing basis with partner institutions that produce material in order to assist cultural institutions in Italy in developing new revenue streams.
The site will continue to grow with the addition of original material, and an eventual worldwide roll-out in the United States and China is planned, however it is unknown whether the platform will work with local institutions in these countries.
ITsART is accessible on the majority of digital devices and has subtitled material in Italian, English, French, German, and Spanish.
Selena Mattei