Italy
Cultural initiative in Italy is characterized by the plurality of bodies
involved. The management of cultural affairs is accomplished through an
interlaced system of administrative bodies, whose competences are dispersed
among several sectors and administrative levels.
The administrative model divides the country into twenty regions, 92
provinces, and some 8,000 municipalities distinguished not only by social
and economic conditions but above all by their cultural backgrounds. Cultural
events and projects of all kinds are often supervised by several bodies
at different levels, including organizations under the control of the
private sector.
Four levels of government (State, Regions, Provinces and Municipalities)
share responsibilities in the cultural field.
Transnational cultural cooperation outside Europe is mainly a task of
the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs. The Ministry has created a specific "DG Cultural Promotion
and Cooperation" which acts through the 93
Italian Cultural Institutes. One of their main tasks is to organize
cultural events.
In the absence of a Ministry of Culture as such, the responsibility for
this field is distributed among several Italian ministries including the
Ministry
for Cultural Heritage and Activities.
The Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities through the different
General Directions plays a role in promoting international cooperation.
Cultural heritage, or "beni culturali" as conceived by the Italian
administration, includes architectural monuments, museums, libraries and
archives (the relatively young Ministry for Cultural Heritage and the
Environment has been created by combining the former General Direction
of Antiquities and Fine Arts with the State Archives).
The promotion of the theatre, music and cinema is up to the General
Direction for cinema and the General
Direction for live entertainments.
The Ministry supervises and finances some 250 institutions and performing
groups, including major opera houses and symphony orchestras, several
prominent chamber orchestras, permanent public theatres as well as non-profit
cooperative theatres, touring companies, commercial theatres, and smaller
orchestras, dance companies, etc. The Unique Fund for Performing Arts,
includes grants for supporting activities abroad in the fields of Music,
Cinema, Theatre and Dance.
For more information on Italian culture:
The Ministry of Foreign
Affairs
The
Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities
Italian Cultural Institutes
National Cultural sites
