Uffizi Gallery Director Schmidt Sets Italy's Email Rules

Image source, Getty Images
By Paul KirbyBBC News
After seven years at the helm of Italy's flagship museum, the Uffizi, its director has clearly had enough of inappropriate punctuation.< /p>
Eike Schmidt laid out his rules for email etiquette in a message to staff.
Boldface is suppressed, although underlining is still acceptable when appropriate for prominent words or phrases.
"You should also avoid whole capitalized sentences," says Schmidt.
There was no reference to emojis but, judging by the tone of the circular, supplemented by its header from the Ministry of Culture, there would be little room for them either.< /p>
"It was the talk of the day for many employees in the hallways, at the water cooler or at the cafe," Uffizi Galleries spokesman Tommaso Galligani told the BBC via email, without any hint of an out-of-place character.
As the Uffizi staff turned their thoughts to Christmas, it reminded them that they represented a ministry of cultural institution from the city of Dante, considered the father of the Italian language.

Entertainment Dec 23, 2022 0 42 Add to Reading List

Uffizi Gallery Director Schmidt Sets Italy's Email Rules

Art historian Eike Schmidt, 54, has led the Uffizi since 2015

By Paul KirbyBBC News

After seven years at the helm of Italy's flagship museum, the Uffizi, its director has clearly had enough of inappropriate punctuation.< /p>

Eike Schmidt laid out his rules for email etiquette in a message to staff.

Boldface is suppressed, although underlining is still acceptable when appropriate for prominent words or phrases.

"You should also avoid whole capitalized sentences," says Schmidt.

There was no reference to emojis but, judging by the tone of the circular, supplemented by its header from the Ministry of Culture, there would be little room for them either.< /p>

"It was the talk of the day for many employees in the hallways, at the water cooler or at the cafe," Uffizi Galleries spokesman Tommaso Galligani told the BBC via email, without any hint of an out-of-place character.

As the Uffizi staff turned their thoughts to Christmas, it reminded them that they represented a ministry of cultural institution from the city of Dante, considered the father of the Italian language.