From cities to villages: when culture becomes a resource, beyond tourism

“Culture and tourism are two sides of the same coin: when culture is strong, tourism benefits, and when tourism is mindful and informed, it supports culture,” notes Carlo Fontana, president of Impresa Cultura Italia-Confcommercio. “The Observatory tells us that 74 per cent of Italians believe that cultural initiatives make their cities more attractive and that 71 per cent recognise their role in promoting traditions. These figures are significant because they show that culture stems from history, communities and the identity of places. The true protagonist remains the local area, which makes every experience authentic. This awareness, however, struggles to translate into a concrete ability to work as a cohesive system: collaborations between operators remain, for the most part, occasional’.

A vulnerability which can be addressed, for example, the public sector, “by facilitating collaboration between these stakeholders, streamlining procedures and encouraging partnerships and long-term projects capable of making the most of public and private resources”, comments Fontana. ‘Events are essential provided they are not isolated. And to avoid “hit-and-run” tourism and attract new audiences, we need to build a year-round offering, distribute visitor flows more evenly throughout the year and promote smaller towns. In this way, culture can foster sustainable development and tourism, whilst also improving the quality of life of communities”.

Over the coming years, the challenge will therefore focus on organising the phenomenon. ‘Our philosophy is: the whole of Italia, all year round. The ‘four Ds’ strategy: deseasonalise, decongest, delocalise and digitise. We cannot envisage an Italia that only works 90 days a year. That is why we have invested over 700 million in the mountains, walking trails, villages and outdoor tourism. ‘In this regard, our decisions are proving effective and the results have been improving since 2025,’ emphasises Minister Mazzi.

But that’s not all: among the goals to be achieved is also “the conquest” the younger generations. With regard to whom, to date, cultural trips seem to be less successful. “The survey we carried out shows that those most interested are people with higher education qualifications, the over-55s and women,” concludes President Fontana. “There are, therefore, economic, social and generational divides that need to be addressed: engaging young people requires flexible formats, opportunities for active participation and a programme of activities tailored to their interests, which helps them recognise culture as a fundamental part of life’s experience, rather than a luxury for the few.”

To broaden participation, we therefore need to take action on several fronts: ‘Make cultural consumption affordable, including through tax relief; invest in training; adopt contemporary forms of expression capable of engaging with different audiences, thanks in part to technology, without compromising on the quality and value of the content.”