Italy's Culture Ministry Launches Olivetti Study Center for Inner Areas

The Italian Ministry of Culture has established the Centro Studi per il Piano Olivetti, a research body dedicated to the cultural regeneration of the country's inner and peripheral areas. Inspired by the social vision of Adriano Olivetti—entrepreneur, industrialist, publisher, intellectual, politician, and social innovator—the center will develop and deepen research lines of the Piano Olivetti per la cultura, a strategic initiative launched in June 2026. Instituted by decree no. 287 on July 9, 2026, the center will create a permanent Atlante culturale delle aree fragili to map and monitor cultural needs in marginalized territories. Its activities include promoting Olivettian culture, organizing Laboratori Olivetti for social dialogue, hosting Giornate Olivettiane cultural events, seminars, and festivals, fostering intergenerational dialogue, and developing digital education programs. The center will be led by a director appointed by the Minister of Culture, serving without compensation, and supported by a technical-scientific committee of up to nine academics and experts in culture, heritage, social policies, and cultural innovation, plus specialists in the third sector, accessibility and inclusion, and youth policies. The committee members are also unpaid. The center will coordinate editorial projects including Quaderni and Annuari.