Italy's Cultural Industry: What It Exports, What It Needs to Import

On December 14, 1974, Italy's Ministry for Culture was established, thanks to the work of Giovanni Spadolini, who became the first to hold to the ministerial post. In the four decades of its existence, the Ministry has considerably extended its reach, by including arts and entertainment, as well as certain aspects of sports and tourism, and has undergone many (perhaps too many) administrative reforms. To this day, however, cultural policy has been hobbled by the seemingly irreconcilable gap between the need for the protection and conservation of Italy's artistic and cultural heritage, and the imperative of enhancing valorization of and access to cultural goods. The lack of public funds to defend and revive Italy's immense cultural endowment seems endemic. Similarly, it is vital to integrate and coordinate the Ministry's interventions with other public actors (central ministries, regions, and local administrations) and private actors (companies, foundations, NGOs) playing a role in the arts and culture industry.

This state of affairs produces a schizophrenic outcome: Italy manages to export its exceptional talent to assist in the recovery of cultural assets, such as the works to reconstruct the site of the Buddhas of Bamiyan destroyed by the Talebans, but stands almost powerless watching Pompei crumble. Similarly, Scala's productions are applauded all over the world, but the majority of Italian opera theaters are on the brink of bankruptcy and need government-appointed undertakers. Giuseppe Penone is acclaimed in France for his installations at Versailles, while Terrae-Motus, a precious collection of modern and contemporary art, remains hidden and unseen in the dusty halls of the Royal Palace of Caserta.

How can Italy overcome its weaknesses in cultural policy? By paying attention to what happens abroad. For instance, the National Endowment for the Arts, the U.S. federal agency that subsidizes culture and artists, works by defining multi-year programs which contain the projects proposed by public and private actors selected by hundreds of panels of independent experts. Federal funding in the States is linked to the results achieved by cultural institutions in terms of matching private grants, that is, by linking public funding to the ability of raising private funds.

This kind of best practice can be easily imported in Italy to improve cultural planning and the fundraising abilities of our cultural institutions. The point is to create local systems of planning and integrated cultural itineraries, akin to the U.S. experience with cultural urban districts, so that cultural assets are valorized accordingly. For a long time, there has been talk of cultural districts in Italy. It is now time to move from words to actions, and provide incentives to the creation of strong cultural networks in the various areas and regions of the Peninsula.