COVID-19 effects in museum management. Insight about the Italian context

The recent lockdown imposed by the Italian Government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic led museums to a complete halt in the offer of cultural services in-museum. How did museums react against the risk of losing their own audience? What strategies did they adopt? The lockdown has pushed museums to implement alternative methods of valorization and fruition of cultural heritage, by facing an abrupt digital transformation. They had to change their business model, and the fruition model, as well as communication strategies adjusted accordingly. The paper aims to investigate the digital transformation of museums, the contribution that digital technologies can provide to their offer, the space digital technology should occupy in museums’ offer. The paper is also an opportunity to reflect on what we should expect from the museums’ ‘new normal’.