Policy and legislation for cultural property in Italy. The foundation of the Ministry for Cultural and Environmental Assets 1974-1975

The topic of cultural assets is today the object of increasing interest on the part of the social sciences, and represents one of the most relevant aspects of public debate, both on a cultural and political level. However, the topic stills appears insufficiently considered, especially at a historical level, compared to the ample juridical scholarship and significant politological scholarship of Anglo-Saxon countries. In Italy, the field has been considered primarily in the most recent studies about current legislation, and with exception for several sporadic cases, less in terms of its historical evolution. The contribution herein proposed approaches the issue from a historical point of view, examining a particularly important moment in the Italian situation, that of the foundation of the Ministry for Cultural and Environmental Assets in 1974. This act appears as the point of arrival of the debate which evolved in Italy starting from the late 19th century and which continued for the entire 20th century, intersecting the aspects of transformations of institutions and of the administrative structure of the State. Furthermore, the debate involved the profound changes taking place in the society, especially during the 1950s and 1960s, as part of the industrial boom which arrived with the so-called “miracle”. In placing under examination the archival documentation conserved at the section “Ministry for Cultural and Environmental Assets” of the Archives of Giovanni Spadolini—who was the promoter and soul of the Ministry, the essay proposes a reconstruction of the prerequisites and results of this important moment in Italian politics, drawing an outline of the structure that the Ministry acquired at the start.