Italy's Differentiated Autonomy Law Risks Fragmenting Cultural Heritage Management

Italy's new law on differentiated regional autonomy, approved in June 2024, threatens to fragment the management of cultural heritage and landscape. The law separates state-level protection (tutela) from regional-level enhancement (valorizzazione), potentially leading to 20 different regional strategies for heritage and landscape. This could cause delays in projects funded by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), as responsibilities are divided between ministries and regional offices. The law also risks enabling the use and abuse of cultural sites without uniform oversight, and may exacerbate existing geographical disparities in investment. The article by Massimiliano Zane on Artribune warns that enhancement without organic national coordination could become mere commercial exploitation, undermining the constitutional principle that protection and enhancement are inseparable. It also notes that the Italian Constitution was recently amended (Article 9) to include environmental protection, biodiversity, and ecosystems, recognizing landscape as cultural heritage. The autonomy law could undermine this recognition by prioritizing local specificity over national identity.