The fifth annual report by Federculture has confirmed a trend that is now evident in our country. Italy’s cultural and artistic wealth is being held back by a decision-making slackness and by a shortage of adequate resources. Despite the driving strength of Italian products with a strong component of creativity, investments in the cultural field are really limited. What is missing is a link between creative industry, culture and market which favours competitiveness.
Although Italy is the world leader for design, second only to China for exports of creative products (with a turnover of 28,000 million dollars in 2005), it actually occupies only the 46th position in the classification on competitiveness, according to the World Economic Forum ranking. Moreover, the country with the greatest cultural heritage in the world is only 104th in the classification for the most visited exhibitions.
There is a lack of investments in the art and culture sector. In particular, there are no investments on young artists, who often choose to go elsewhere to proceed in the career. Culture is still considered exclusively as safeguarding; no space is given to the dimension that allows to become really competitive: investment. This way the system is risking a paralysis. Remaining anchored only to the splendours of the past and forgetting to invest in the future is very risky and hardly profitable.
But despite the long tradition of all those sectors that entail a significant amount of creativity, resources aimed at supported young talents in the artistic and cultural field are truly inadequate, especially if we compare them to our European partners who invest dozens of thousands of euros in this sector, with clear programmes, connected to the development of creative industries and the valorization of the territory.
However, there is some good news. And it concerns a growing interest on behalf of citizens, which has determined an increase in the demand, but also a dynamic and variegated supply, mainly from local institutions. The bad news is that this trend risks coming to a standstill due to limited resources. The ministry for Cultural Heritage, for instance, has always been the least funded. Although a nominal increase of resources has been recorded, it was lower than the other ministries. And the cuts anticipated for the three-year period 2009/2011 are not promising for the future.
What is missing is a true understanding of the importance of creativity as a driving strength for the economy, for its contaminating effects in the productive system, in terms of innovation, added value, competitiveness.
At the present state, the lack of public resources is not adequately supported by private interventions. Indeed, companies are not adequately incentivized to invest in this field. However, positive signs are coming from the exemption from taxes on liberal outpayments for culture. In two years the introduction of this regulation has generated a net increase in this voice. In 2007, liberal outpayments by individuals reached 20 million euros, recording a 70% increase compared to the previous year.
However, the report presented by Federculture shows a fragmented situation, without a global project, probably as the result of a devolution to the regions that was not well-programmed. What is needed is a careful analysis of this sector which should shun the positions consolidated over time by various actors that intervene on the cultural scene. It is necessary to open up to dialogue and carry out a shared analysis of the real situation, in order to be more prepared in facing the current challenges. “We need a thorough and objective analysis of the situation that Italy is experiencing, leaving aside the stereotyped analyses of a part of the academic world on the economy of culture, on the sterile as much as useless conceptual contraposition between public and private in the management of cultural services, and between safeguarding and valorization or even in the diatribe between state centralism and local autonomies. And political forces, but also institutions, companies and operating systems, need to reconsider political choices, conducts, priorities on the important themes of creativity and culture” Roberto Grossi has warned, Secretary-General of Federculture and curator of the fifth annual report.

(translated by Giorgina Arcuri)