Marina Valensise Argues Culture Is a Sound Investment for Italy

Marina Valensise, former director of the Italian Cultural Institute in Paris, argues that culture is a vital investment for Italy, not a cost to be cut. Writing in Artribune, she criticizes the absence of cultural debate in the 2018 election campaign and counters the notion that 'you can't eat culture.' Valensise describes her success at the Paris institute, where she federated Italian entrepreneurs, artists, and designers to create a participatory valorization model. This model generated over one million euros in products and services for a state property, doubled the institute's annual state allocation, increased public attendance by 40%, and boosted language course enrollments by 20%. She details this approach in her 2016 book 'La cultura è come la marmellata' (Marsilio). Valensise calls for a strategic vision combining passion and rigor, insisting that culture fosters civil growth, integration, and a sense of belonging. She dismisses skeptics who claim such success is only possible in Paris, asserting that all of Italy is a vast cultural institute waiting for a conscious lever.