Good practice:

Public and Private Partnership to support regional strategic cultural assets' management

The Residences of the Royal House of Savoy include 22 palaces and villas located in and around Torino (Italy) developed for administrative and recreational purposes by the Savoy dynasty from the 17th to the 19th century. These Residences, registered in the World Heritage List of UNESCO, offer an outstanding testimony of the history of Piedmont region and Italy due to their architectural and cultural characteristics.

The need of a permanent and integrated governance system of these valuable public properties resulted in a consortium entrusted with common and strategic management as well as development of cultural activities and functions.
"Consorzio delle Residenze Reali Sabaude" - made up of national, regional and local public institutions (i.e. Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Regione Piemonte) and private entities (i.e. Bank Foundations) - acts as a legal public autonomous entity. The innovative administrative profile of the consortium ensured cultural exhibitions and activities which increased the number of visitors, broaden visibility also at international level and produced a positive impact on regional territory.

At first, in 2008, the partnership just managed “La Venaria Reale”: an extraordinary complex covering a surface of 950.000 square metres home to some of the finest examples of European baroque. In 2017, thanks to this positive experience, the Consortium' Statute has been modified in order to extend its management activity to other Royal Residences

Consortium fee is established in its Statute: Regione Piemonte - that yearly evaluates the Consortium's program of activities - pays about 30% of the total annual balance; 30% comes from other members’ contributions; the remaining quota is paid by Consortium's promotional activities.

In the period 2008-2017 the Consortium organized (at “La Venaria Reale”):
• 51 exhibitions
• 3.800 concerts, events and cultural initiatives
• more than 35.000 educational itineraries
The analysis on international tourism led by Bank of Italy shows the growing propensity of international tourism to identify Torino and Piedmont as cultural destinations. The percentage of those who choose Torino and Piedmont for cultural reasons between 2009-2014 was around 20% while in 2015 it reached 24%

For the purposes of coordinating, harmonising and increasing enjoyment of the publicly owned places of culture, the Italian legal framework allows the creation of consortiums, as legal autonomous entities, meant to support Public Authorities in planning cultural initiatives and managing communication and marketing aspects too.

The "Consorzio delle Residenze Reali Sabaude" (has been and) is also beneficiary of EU funds: i.e. actually it manages a cultural exhibition financed by the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF 2014-2020); as well “La Venaria Reale Project” promoted by the European Union and coordinated by the Ministry for the Cultural Heritage and Regione Piemonte, was the largest restoration project in Europe concerning a cultural asset.