Abstract

The concept of institutional transparency appeared in the international debate following Russian revolution and Woodrow Wilson fourteen points. In the US in 1966, after decades of extensive domestic debate, institutional transparency was embodied in a legislative framework: the Freedom of information Act (FOIA). Ever since FOIA became a global standard for regulation of transparency and public’s right to know. Italy adopted a FOIA law very lately. This essay analyzes the genesis of the Italian FOIA and the complicated relations among social, political and administrative actors involved in lawmaking and implementation of a controversial law.