MANAGING AND REFRAMING COLONIAL COLLECTIONS: THE CURATORIAL EVOLUTION OF MUSEO DELLE CIVILTÀ IN ROME

This thesis presents a critical examination of decolonial practices within the Italian museum landscape, utilizing Rome’s Museo delle Civiltà (MuCiv) as its primary case study. The research interrogates the 2022 integration of the former Colonial Museum's collections, an event recognized as a pivotal moment in the national debate on Italy's long-suppressed imperial history. This study establishes a theoretical and historical framework for the global discourse on colonial heritage by tracing the origins of Italian colonialism and the evolution of its museum systems. Particular emphasis is placed on the former Colonial Museum, interrogating its historical function as an instrument for Fascist propaganda and ideological control. Adopting a qualitative methodology, this analysis examines the museum’s current permanent display and the Museo delle Opacità curatorial project, focusing on how contemporary art is strategically employed to reframe colonial legacies, further facilitating the museum’s transition from a static repository to an active platform for the engagement of diaspora communities.