Modern Ethno-Anthropological Museums in Sardinia

DOI: 10.33876/2311-0546/2025-3/65-81

Authors

Keywords:

Sardinia, ethno-anthropological museums, intrinsic motivation of museification, tourism development, new museum strategies

Abstract

The article addresses the current state of ethno-anthropological museums in Sardinia, which has not received coverage in scientific discourse. Paradoxically, this region is one of the leaders in Italy and Europe both in terms of the number of museums (including ethno-anthropological ones) and the pace of ongoing museification, but at the same time it has the lowest index of museum visits, both by "internal" and "external" tourists. In an effort to explain this phenomenon, the authors, relying on various sources, including their own field experience, turn to the historical, socio-cultural, psychological, economic, and political realities of Sardinia.  Interest in the region's history and culture is growing, but at the same time, identity politics are becoming more radicalized, declarations of ethnic exclusivity are becoming more emphatic, history is being rewritten, traditions are being invented, cultural myths are being created, and cultural heritage is being commercialized  with the development of tourism as a factor in improving living standards. Referring to individual examples of ethno-anthropological museums, the authors consider various approaches to Sardinian museum business (scientific and commercial) as reflections of social processes.

Author Biographies

  • Armando Maxia, Ethnographic Museum of Sardinian Mountain Culture

    Maxia, Armando — Ph.D. in Demoanthropology, Director, Ethnographic Museum of Sardinian Mountain Culture (Parco Comunale Pastissu, 08031 Aritzo (Nuoro), Italy). E-mail: maxiaarmando@tiscali.it ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2920-6921

  • Aleksandra Zhuravleva, the Russian Academy of Sciences N. N. Miklouho-Maklay Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology

    Zhuravleva, Aleksandra V. — Ph.D. Student, Center for European Studies, the Russian Academy of Sciences N. N. Miklouho-Maklay Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology (Moscow, Russian Federation). E-mail: zhuravleva.alex@gmail.com ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-4451-2426

    For citation: Maxia, A., and A. Zhuravleva. 2025. Modern Ethno-Anthropological Museums in Sardinia. Herald of Anthropology (Vestnik Antropologii) 3: 65–81.

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Published

23.09.2025

Issue

No. 3 (2025): Herald of Anthropology (Vestnik antropologii)

Section

Ethnography in European Museums: The Interpretation and Construction of Traditions