In Italy several non-governmental organizations, belonging to the economic and social system, perform important functions in support of the cultural offer system, sometimes also influencing cultural policy.
For example, the 86 Italian Banking Foundations (“Fondazioni di origine bancaria”), operating for purposes of social utility and promotion of the economic development of the territory, make significant investments in the cultural sector. Although these Foundations are private law entities born in the early 90s from the transformation of the banking system, being non-profit organizations, they can sign agreements with public institutions, in order to support interventions for the enhancement of cultural heritage. However, it should be noted that since these entities are concentrated in the northern Regions, they contribute to increasing the territorial gap with the southern areas (see chapter 4.1.2 and 7.3).
Important subsidiarity functions in the management of the local cultural offer system and in supporting cultural innovation of the territories are carried out by third sector organizations. It is a heterogeneous galaxy of realities that in the last 30 years have seen their role progressively recognized and enabled by the institutions.
Already in the 70s and 80s, multipurpose cultural centres were funded by municipalities and run by cultural associations. ARCI (the Italian Cultural Recreational Association) is the largest and oldest Italian cultural and social promotion association, with hundreds of thousands of members and many associations and mutual aid societies throughout the country. It represents cinemas, theatres, music clubs, visual arts galleries, reading spaces, etc. and the promotion of cultural activities is the core of this associative project (see chapter 6.4).
The third sector reform process, launched in Italy in 2017 and still ongoing, has posed innovative and structural challenges to a large part of non for profit cultural organizations, but also to small and medium-sized enterprises operating in the cultural and creative sector. This reform has directly involved, for example, the phenomenon of “social enterprise”, which carries out one or more business activities on a permanent and main basis that are of general interest, non-profit making and pursue civic, solidarity and social utility purposes. The activities permitted by law include, among others, those relating to the “protection and valorisation of cultural heritage and the landscape”, the “organization and management of cultural, artistic or recreational activities of social interest” and the “organization and management of tourism activities of social, cultural or religious interest”. Social enterprises, in addition to a particularly favorable fiscal and tax treatment, can establish privileged relationships with public bodies, through forms of co-programming, co-planning and accreditation (see chapter 4.1.2).
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