San Marino/ 4. Current issues in cultural policy development and debate  

4.1 Main cultural policy issues and priorities

Policy priorities in the cultural sector have been mainly linked to the government's aim to foster economic development in San Marino. They are:

• interventions in the sector of public works and infrastructures with regard to: creation of a new museum centre in the City of San Marino; conversion of the cinema "Turismo" (near the historic centre) into a multi-functional area; town-planning enhancement of the areas "Cava Antica" and "Cava degli Umbri" (within the walls of the ancient town); functional recovery of the premises of Palazzo Kursaal; rationalisation and putting together of university branches;
• encouragement of the joint management of the whole museum system, so that it can become internationally attractive (Modern Art National Gallery, recovery of the Museum dedicated to Garibaldi and of the Philatelic and Numismatic Museum);
• reorganisation of the social centres, also through integration with other cultural Institutes;
• development of the theatre sector;
• establishment of private enterprises in the sector of day and night entertainment, including cinemas;
• adoption of regulations and agreements governing private-public partnerships in order to help promote volunteer and independent initiatives;
• with regard to the territorial tourist offer, event promotion policies should be a priority; to this end, it is necessary to involve public and private resources in the organisation of consolidated events, also of an international nature, especially by exploiting arts as an attractive and qualifying element;
• promotion of highly prestigious events and involvement of San Marino in the international cultural and artistic debates;
• introduction of more comprehensive legislation for the management and protection of collective artistic heritage, that is goods having a historical, cultural, artistic and architectural value, thus providing for their recording, description, cataloguing and relevant protection modalities;
• enhancement of the archaeological heritage, by favouring specific studies on San Marino sites and preparing ad hoc visits;
• recovery and organisation of archives of public and private interest with the use of adequate structures;
• strengthening of the collaboration with the Adriatic Riviera and the Montefeltro with a view to developing a comprehensive project to enhance the landscape, culture, arts and fascinating features of the most ancient Republic in the world;
• strengthening of the link between tourist and cultural activities, including those that can be promoted through the University;
• review of the regulations of the Supervisory Commission to extend its control;
• enhancement and strengthening of the San Marino Radio and Television Broadcasting Company also through an assessment of the best possible strategic partnership options, in the light of the on-going technological developments and of internationally available opportunities for new forms of broadcasting and multimedia collaboration;
• amendment of the publishing legislation to promote the sector, guarantee professionalism of operators and protect citizens;
• development of the library service through the opportunities offered by the Library Network of Emilia Romagna and San Marino, by strengthening services on the territory and adapting the structures; and
• management of the property "Historic Centre of San Marino and Mount Titano" – included in the World Heritage List of UNESCO on 7 July 2008 (see chapter 4.2.2 and chapter 4.3 for details) – through the transposition of the requirements guaranteeing that the Republic continues to be part of the List and the definition of a specific regulation for "peculiar goods" at the basis of the UNESCO recognition.

Like many other States, over the last years San Marino has suffered from the effects of the global crisis, which of course has had increasing repercussions on the State budget, thus requiring cuts in public expenditure. These cuts have impacted on cultural investments. For this reason, the expenditure for external advice has been partly cut, with particular reference to the cinema review "Occhi sul Cinema, incontri col cinema d'autore" concerning art cinema (see chapter 8.2.2) and the Theatre Season.

The international economic scenario is all but encouraging. During 2011 and 2012, the government, and more generally the political class, has expressed the intention to change this scenario through arts and culture, which should be based on new development models. The idea is to continue to organise artistic and cultural initiatives, aimed at successfully promoting development and favouring an alternative economic development, despite the strong awareness that financial resources are becoming more and more limited. In this sense, it would be desirable to create a San Marino artistic and cultural centre and an exhibition area larger than that of the SUMS Building (for further details, see chapter 7.1).

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