Sgarbi: ‘I was acquitted for the Manetti painting, I’m not interested in revenge’

Milan, 18 February (LaPresse) – Vittorio Sgarbi says he is ‘satisfied’ after his acquittal in the trial in Reggio Emilia for the case of the painting by Rutilio Manetti. ‘Of course, the affair has affected my mood, but I am not interested in revenge, as I might have been in the past. For me, the only appreciable result of all this is that Italy now knows a little more about who Rutilio Manetti is,’ said the art critic in an interview with Corriere della Sera. On his resignation as undersecretary for culture in February 2024 over this affair, Sgarbi commented: “I couldn’t defend myself as undersecretary, partly because my lawyers advised me not to participate in the media’s witch hunt. It’s clear that in carrying out an institutional role, I couldn’t avoid the questions. But now I am not asking anything in return from anyone. Least of all moral compensation.‘ Regarding his daughter Evelina, who sued him, Sgarbi states: ’I don’t understand, or perhaps I understand all too well, why Evelina is talking to the newspapers and television stations and not to me, even after this acquittal, just to tell me that she is pleased.” “I have already said everything that humanly needed to be said to her. I can only invite her again, more for her own good than anything else, not to claim that she has my best interests at heart when she takes me to court,” he emphasised.