The idea of identity in museum experience : the Quirinale Palace in rome, the Palazzo Reale in Naples, the Grandmaster’s Palace in Malta. A comparative study

Abstract

Museum identity is the result of a long and complex process where many components play a crucial role. It is closely tied to collective and cultural memory and represents the constant transformation of the museum itself and its community. Historical events deeply influence this process being the ground where the other components take their shape: namely the relationship between art and politics, the urban transformation, and the museological displays. The combination of memory and identity - meant as two DNA strands directed towards past and future - allows drafting a theory on museums conceived as living structures and twenty-first century forums of debate and understanding.