8.1 General context
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Main trends in young people's creativity and cultural participation
Participation in creative and cultural experiences across the country is monitored at national level by the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), which conducts annual national surveys on cultural engagement. According to the Italian Statistical Yearbook 2024, Chapter 10, "Culture and Leisure Time", young people are among the most frequent visitors of museums, archaeological sites, and cultural events. In 2023, 10.5% of young people aged 18-24 visited an exhibition or museum at least seven times during the year, while approximately 13% visited archaeological sites and monuments. In the 18-24 age group, women are more culturally active. Specifically, 52.9% of women visited a museum or exhibition, compared to 38.9% of men, and 41.5% of women visited archaeological sites, compared to 32.3% of men. The audience of the concerts, both classical and others (15% and 46%, respectively), were mostly young people aged between 18 and 24. In the same year, library and cinema attendance was also particularly high among young people aged 18 to 24.
The sample survey “Aspects of daily life” belongs to an integrated system of social surveys, known as the Multipurpose Surveys on Households, highlights the prevalence of activities related to cinema, visits to museums and exhibitions, and nightclubs. The data for 2023 show an increase, compared to 2022, in all the percentage values considered.
Tab 1. Culture, leisure and media use. Cultural participation: entertainments. Data per 100 young people aged 15-34 years, 2023 (percentages).
| Age class | Theatre | Cinema | Museums, exhibitions | Classical music, concerts, opera | Other music concerts | Sport events | Discos, night clubs | Archaeological sites and monuments |
| 15-17 years | 32,1 | 71,7 | 48,9 | 12,2 | 31,6 | 42,3 | 47,3 | 38,8 |
| 18-19 years | 25,8 | 74,3 | 49,5 | 12,9 | 45 | 38,5 | 63,1 | 35,9 |
| 20-24 years | 19,3 | 71,7 | 44,3 | 15,8 | 46,4 | 38,4 | 59,9 | 37,2 |
| 25-34 years | 19,4 | 57,8 | 39,8 | 13,8 | 36,3 | 32,3 | 38,6 | 35,4 |
Source: ISTAT: Sample survey “Multipurpose surveys on households: Aspects of daily life”, 2023
Main concepts
According to Art.9 of the Italian Constitution “The Republic promotes the development of culture and of scientific and technical research. It shall safeguard the natural beauties and the historical and artistic heritage of the Nation. It shall safeguard the environment, biodiversity and ecosystems, also in the interest of future generations. State law shall regulate the methods and means of safeguarding animals”.
In implementing Art. 9 of the Constitution, the Code of the Cultural and Landscape Heritage (Legislative Decree 42/2004) establishes in Art. 2 that: “The cultural heritage consists of cultural property and landscape assets. (…) Cultural heritage property belonging to the government shall be designated for public enjoyment, compatibly with the needs of government use and on condition that no protection reasons to the contrary persist”.
According to Art. 6 of the same Code, the enhancement of cultural heritage consists in “the exercise of the functions and in the regulation of the activities aimed at promoting knowledge of the cultural heritage and at ensuring the best conditions for the utilization and public enjoyment of the same heritage. Enhancement also includes the promotion and the support of conservation work on cultural heritage”.