Italy's 2% Law and Public Art: Alessandra Donati Questions a 1949 Tool
Italy's Legge 717 del 1949, known as the 2% Law, requires a portion of expenses for new public buildings to be allocated for art. Alessandra Donati, an expert in art law from ADVANT-Nctm and Università Milano-Bicocca, acknowledges the law's validity but criticizes its structure as inadequate for contemporary public art. She points out problems with 'abbellimento' commissions and overly prescriptive proposals, resulting in 'arte duepercento' produced by 'professionisti del 2%.' The 2017 guidelines promoted early engagement of artists, while the 2023 directives for Centro Italia earthquake recovery emphasize integrating art from the outset. The Duepercento portal is overseen by the Ministry of Culture's Direzione Generale Creatività Contemporanea. Donati advocates for a dedicated fund and ongoing commissions, citing Turin and Milan as successful models.
Key facts
- Legge 717 del 1949, known as the Legge del 2%, allocated a portion of public building construction costs to artworks
- Alessandra Donati called the law valid in principle but structurally inadequate for contemporary public art
- Donati is of Counsel at ADVANT-Nctm and teaches comparative law at Università Milano-Bicocca
- 2017 guidelines required early artist selection to foster interplay between artwork and architecture
- 2023 linee di indirizzo were developed for reconstruction of areas struck by the Centro Italia earthquake
- The Ministry of Culture's Direzione Generale Creatività Contemporanea runs the Duepercento census portal
- School and university buildings are excluded from the 2% mechanism, per Donati
- Donati proposed a dedicated fund and permanent commissions, citing Turin and Milan as virtuous exceptions
Entities
Artists
- Alberto Burri
- Carlo Zauli
- Tomaso Binga
- Alessandra Donati
- Cosimo Veneziano
- Enzo Cucchi
- Michelangelo Pistoletto
- Claudia Balocchini
Institutions
- Artribune
- Ministero della Cultura
- Direzione Generale Creatività Contemporanea
- ADVANT-Nctm
- Università Milano-Bicocca
- AitArt
- a.titolo
- Fondazione Connecting Cultures
- Camera di Commercio, Industria, Artigianato e Agricoltura di Forlì
- Direzione Generale della Motorizzazione Civile di Roma
- Ministero per le Infrastrutture
- Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali (MiBACT)
- Ministero delle Infrastrutture e dei Trasporti
Locations
- Italy
- Forlì
- Rome
- Milan
- Turin
- Vancouver
- Canada
- Centro Italia
- Pescara
- Firenze