The main cultural assets of Italy

Italy is a country rich in cultural and landscape heritage, a heritage that is complemented with an extraordinary variety of intangible elements. From north to south, the cultural heritage is the legacy of the different civilizations that have inhabited these territories for over more than two thousand years. Travelling through Italy one can visit monuments, archaeological sites, and cultural landscapes, historical centres rich in works of art housed in national and territorial museums; and even experience rituals and festivals, ancient oral expressions, social practices, including traditional crafts. It is thanks to a long and recognized activity in the field of protection and conservation, which has concerned both the development of philosophical thought and the establishment of research centres of excellence that this heritage has been able to be preserved.

The legal framework on cultural heritage conservation

The protection and conservation of cultural heritage is ensured at national level by the Code of Cultural Heritage and Landscape (Digs 42/2004), which applies to the many categories of cultural heritage (architectural, historical and artistic, archaeological, archival, library heritage) and intangible heritage, as well as landscape heritage.

The national regulation is integrated with the territorial planning regulations (Territorial Landscape Plans, Municipal Regulatory Plans, Park Plans, etc.) through a careful reading of the territories that are subdivided into valuable areas and areas that are subject to requalification. The plans also formulate the protection of the areas according to different levels by specifying those where only restoration and conservation interventions can be carried out and where new interventions are possible.

The cultural and natural sites on the World Heritage List

The UNESCO World Heritage List in Italy is rich in sites of different types and sizes, which contribute to illustrating the long and extraordinary history of humanity throughout the country. The most well-known historical centers as well as monuments and monumental complexes, archaeological sites and cultural landscapes are included in the list. The List also includes important natural sites that complete the picture of the Italian World Heritage.

Italy is a Member State of ICCROM since 24/10/1960

Italy and ICCROM

Italy is ICCROM's host country and has therefore played an important role in the long-term development of the organization. The Headquarters Agreement, which defines the status and the legal position of ICCROM on the Italian territory, went into force on 11 June 1960. Italy works with ICCROM on an inter-ministerial level with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation and the Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism.

In regard to Governance, Italy is represented as per the ICCROM Statutes by two institutional positions. A representative of the Italian Government and a representative of the Istituto Superiore per la Conservazione ed il Restauro (Higher Institute for Conservation and Restoration) serve as members of the ICCROM Council. Over the years, a number of very important figures in the conservation world served as representatives of these two institutions including (among others) Guglielmo De Angelis d’Ossat, Piero Gazzola, Cesare Brandi, Italo Angle, and Giovanni Urbani.

The Italian government also provides ICCROM with the necessary premises, currently as part of the Complesso Monumentale di San Michele along the banks of the Tiber River in Rome.

Director-General: Stefano De Caro from 2011 to 2017

ICCROM Staff since 1959: 65 (of which 22 seconded)

Governmental Cultural Institutions

• Ministero degli Affari esteri e della Cooperazione internazionale
  
• Ministero per i beni e le attività culturali e per il Turismo
  

Museums and Cultural Heritage Institutions

• Istituto Superiore per la Conservazione ed il Restauro (ISCR)
  
• Opificio delle Pietre Dure
  
• Istituto Centrale per il Patrimonio Immateriale
  
• Istituto Centrale per la Patologia degli Archivi e del Libro
  
• Galleria Borghese
  
• Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea
  
• Galleria degli Uffizi
  
• Galleria dell’Accademia di Venezia
  
• Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte
  
• Museo Nazionale Romano
  
• Parco Archeologico del Colosseo
  
• Parco Archeologico di Pompei
  
• Pinacoteca di Brera
  
• Reggia di Caserta
  

* ICCROM reserves the right to moderate the content provided by Member States for country profiles to ensure that they remain within the scope of ICCROM’s mission and pertinent to cultural heritage. However, ICCROM does not take responsibility for the accuracy and validity of the content supplied. The ideas and opinions expressed are those of the Member States.