Italy risks missing opportunity with EU recovery funds for culture

Italy has access to €209 billion (potentially €248 billion) from the European Union's Recovery and Resilience Facility over the next five years, but the country's National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) lacks detail and strategic vision, particularly in cultural policy. The plan allocates less than 2% of total resources (under €5 billion) to culture, a marginal share exacerbated by the separation of culture from tourism. Critics argue the plan perpetuates a patrimonialization paradigm focused on passive attractiveness and visitor numbers, rather than innovation. The introduction incorrectly states Italy has the most UNESCO sites, revealing a confusion between valorization and monetization. Without a clear framework for implementation, evaluation, and integration across scales, Italy risks failing to meet EU requirements and missing a transformative opportunity. The article calls for a dual intervention plan to make local cultural systems more efficient and reorganize territorial strategies, connecting them to urban, economic, and social development.