Interview with Mario Cristiani, President of Save the Artistic Heritage

As risks to our cultural heritage continue to rise, the need to rethink how we protect it has become increasingly urgent. Ahead of our upcoming panel, “Make Art Safe Again: How Do You Mediate the Risks of Showing Art in Museums?” in Maastricht on March 13th, we sat down with Mario Cristiani, President of Save the Artistic Heritage and co‑founder of Galleria Continua, to explore how digital innovation can help ensure the preservation and long‑term safety of artworks in a changing cultural environment. Here is our conversation.

1. ARTE Generali and Save the Artistic Heritage share a core mission: how do you envisage digital innovation in supporting preservation and global accessibility?

ARTE Generali and Save the Artistic Heritage share a fundamental mission: to preserve cultural heritage for future generations while enhancing its protection and visibility, always in full respect of the artist’s original work.

In an era in which technology offers new ways of engaging with art, our proposal is centred on providing a technological instrument that supports those who safeguard artistic heritage across time. Our system ensures that digital reproductions are certified and authenticated either by the artists themselves (where possible) or by recognized professional institutions and experts, capable of guaranteeing authenticity and secure attribution.

The digital technology we promote starts from this essential principle: protecting the relationship between the original and its digital counterpart. In today’s context, even the alteration of a single pixel—imperceptible to the human eye—can generate countless manipulated reproductions, undermining the integrity of the original and opening the door to mass technological reproducibility, falsification, and loss of trust.

Our patented system is designed to prevent such risks. It connects a certified digital file indissolubly to a specific display device, allowing the institution or private owner of the original to control the number of authorized reproductions. This limitation—contractually and legally defined—preserves both the cultural and economic value of the work in the short and, above all, in the long term.

Our approach is first and foremost at the service of museums and foundations, and may later extend to other qualified entities capable of demonstrating lawful ownership and authenticity. The objective is not to multiply images indiscriminately, but to create a secure, traceable and ethically grounded relationship between the original masterpiece and its certified digital editions.

2. Through certified digital editions, masterpieces can be displayed in multiple location. How does this affect the audience’s experience?

The technology we promote offers curators the possibility to present complete exhibition narratives, even when certain masterpieces cannot travel due to conservation, loan schedules or fragility.

For the public, this means certainty: certainty that an original exists, that it is safeguarded by a recognized institution, and that what they are experiencing is not a manual copy or an ambiguous digital reproduction circulating without guarantees. In a time when the uncontrolled spread of digital images—or speculative digital assets—can create confusion and erode trust, our system restores clarity regarding authorship, authenticity and value.

Our proposal is primarily addressed to public and private non-profit institutions. Each original may generate up to nine certified digital editions numbered in Roman numerals. Six of these, once production costs are covered, may be used as innovative fundraising instruments for sponsors, patrons or partner institutions.

In addition, nine further editions numbered in Arabic numerals may be produced. For these, Cinello Benefit Company—holder of the patent in the United States, Europe, Japan and China—allocates 50% of the proceeds to the institution or rightful owner of the original.

This model strengthens the financial autonomy and credibility of institutions, while maintaining a direct and transparent link between the safeguarded original and its certified digital editions. It reinforces trust, supports preservation, and provides art lovers worldwide with a verified, responsible way to engage with masterpieces.

3. Observatory on Loans in Italy

We regret that, at this stage, we are unable to disclose any advance information regarding the findings of the Observatory on Loans in Italy, as the study will be officially presented on 19 March.

We warmly invite you to attend the presentation, where the research results and their implications will be shared in full. It will be our pleasure to provide comprehensive insights on that occasion and to engage in further discussion thereafter.

4. Save the Artistic Heritage invests in digital literacy and educational programmes. How do these initiatives shape global access to art?

Our investment in education does not focus primarily on technical digital training, but on cultural access.

One of the core objectives of Save the Artistic Heritage is to bring masterpieces that are normally immovable—due to fragility, conservation limits or institutional constraints—into communities that would otherwise never have the opportunity to encounter them.

Through certified digital editions and travelling exhibitions, we can take major works beyond their traditional institutional settings: into underserved areas, outermost regions and non-traditional cultural venues. This is not merely about display; it is about cultural activation. It means organizing talks, contextual programmes, educational activities and public engagement initiatives that transform the presence of a masterpiece into a shared cultural experience.

In doing so, we are not only preserving heritage—we are symbolically and culturally redistributing it. The long-term impact is profound: it fosters awareness, pride and a sense of shared ownership within communities that are often excluded from the mainstream cultural circuit.