Policy Profile Italy
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Policy Profile Italy
Italy is a member state of the European Union and is therefore required to implement all EU directives, laws, regulations and policies, including those related to heritage and culture.
The European Commission has a Representation Office in Rome and a regional Representation in Milan. The European Parliament has two Liaison Offices as well located in Rome and Milan. The Italian Government has a Permanent Representation to the European Union in Brussels.
Italy is a parliamentary republic, whose Prime Minister (Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri) is the head of the government. Historically, in the national cultural policy, protection of cultural heritage has prevailed over other cultural policy areas. The legal basis for the State action in the cultural field is laid down in the so-called “Cultural Constitution” of Italy, that is to say the articles of the Italian Constitution concerning culture. Namely, articles 9, 33 and 34.
With the constitutional reform in 2001, Italian regions acquired legislative autonomy and more independence. Concerning culture, the reform establishes that the State and the regions have “concurrent legislative powers” on cultural heritage. Namely, the State retains all competencies on cultural protection, whereas it shares with the regions competencies on promotion and valorisation (Article 117).
Therefore, on the national level, the major actors on the cultural and cultural heritage fields are the Ministero della Cultura (Ministry of Culture) – renamed in 2021 with a decree law -, the Ministero dell’Università e della Ricerca (Ministry of University and Research), the Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation) and the Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri (Prime Minister’s Office).
Equally important are the Superintendencies for archaeology, fine arts and landscape (forty-three), entrusted with the protection of cultural heritage. Formally, Superintendencies are peripheral offices of the Ministry of Culture. In the field of cultural heritage conservation, the Istituto Centrale per il Restauro (Central Institute for Restoration), established in 1939, is a financially and scientifically autonomous institute for cultural heritage conservation and restoration under the Directorate General of Education, Research and Cultural Institutes of the Ministry.
Concerning international cultural cooperation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation promotes Italian culture abroad through its dedicated Directorate General for Public and Cultural Diplomacy and the 86 Italian Institutes for Culture.
The Republic of Italy is composed of 15 ordinary regions: Abruzzo, Puglia (Apulia), Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Emilia-Romagna, Lazio, Liguria, Lombardia (Lombardy), Marche, Molise, Piemonte (Piedmont), Umbria and Veneto; and 5 autonomous regions: Valle d’Aosta (Aosta Valley), Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Sardegna (Sardinia), Sicilia (Sicily), Trentino Alto Adige e Südtirol (Trentino-South Tyrol).
On a general level, autonomous regions have more freedom for action in several policy areas, including culture. Ordinary regions have progressively gained more powers and since 2001 they share the competencies of valorisation and promotion of cultural heritage with the State.
On a lower level, municipalities likewise play a fundamental role in culture through the specialised municipal Assessorati alla Cultura (Departments for Culture).
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* = This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence
