Exploring the Financial Strategies of Private Museums: The Case of the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence

Many studies pointed out that museums are usually unable to support their activities independently as self-generated revenue is not enough to fulfil their institutional tasks. Literature has so far devoted limited attention to financing ways of private museums. However, private museums represent an interesting context of analysis as they could be more capable to self-finance their activities as well as to diversify income sources. This chapter aims to analyse in-depth the financial structure of a private museum, by exploring the case of the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence with a semistructured interview and secondary sources. The results show that culture is not always a sector that “lives” only thanks to public funding. Indeed, the Opera shows a general increase in the revenue from tickets and the pursuit of financial equilibrium. The main challenge of this institution seems to be the identification of new “mindful” users and new resources for the building maintenance and restoration. At the academic level, this study addresses the call for more in-depth research on financing ways of private museums, thereby filling the literature gap. Furthermore, as concerns practical implications, this study offers a “food for thought” for museum managers, which plays a pivotal role in facilitating private investments and donations to cultural institutions.