Italy Safeguards Its Museums From NFTs

The Italian government has stepped in to protect the nation’s precious works of art from what is being referred to as a “digital invasion” brought on by non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

The traditional market isn’t ready to relinquish power that easily, but Web3 technology may turn out to be the next great thing in the art world. In the era of NFT art, many museums and galleries have embraced the digital transformation in order to collaborate with Web3 businesses, but many others still want to do their business in the conventional way.

Italy is home to some of the most well-known works of art in the world, but recently, replicas of these precious pieces have begun to appear in the cutting-edge and interesting world of non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

NFTs, commonly referred to as non-fungible tokens, are essentially blockchain-stored digital copies of works of art, works of media, and collectibles. They simplify the process of proving who owns a piece of art and confirming its authenticity.

The Italian government appears to be worried about the potential effects that NFTs might have on the nation’s priceless works of art, though.

Massimo Osanna, the head of Italy’s museums, said on Friday that the country is thinking about banning the sale of its famous artworks online in response to a recent incident involving one of Michaelangelo’s most well-known pieces of art. The Uffizi in Florence, the host gallery, received only €70,000 of the total revenue from an NFT of Michelangelo’s Doni Tondo.

The agreement’s paperwork states that the company received 50% of the profits and that the Milan-based Cinello mint, which was in charge of producing the piece, received 70% of the profits in the form of €70,000.

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The Web3 firm allegedly set aside 100,000 euros to pay the expenses associated with the NFT’s development. A representative for the Uffizi said that concerns had been raised concerning the contract’s provisions, which specified that “revenue owing to the reproduction of the image is split in half between the company and the museum; the Cinello copy made roughly €140,000 [on the sale], therefore the Uffizi received €70,000.” The aforementioned worries were raised as a result of this.

The Italian daily La Repubblica asked a number of questions in May about the possibility that the nation might lose its heritage if it let copies of its most well-known works of art to be marketed as NFTs. These inquiries centered on the possibility that the nation would lose its unique cultural identity.

“Who owns Doni Tondo by Michelangelo? Who is the owner of the work’s legal rights? Can the buyer display it without the Uffizi’s consent if he ever chose to? Basically, in a time when we are increasingly going towards the metaverse, do we not run the risk of losing control over our heritage?

However, Osanna was unable to offer a thorough response to the questions this week due to the lack of a clearly defined legal framework.

According to the statement, “The Ministry has temporarily requested that its institutions [museums and archaeological sites] refrain from signing contracts connected to NFTs given that the topic is complex and unregulated.” He emphasized that the fundamental objective is to avoid unfair contractual arrangements.