Abstract

As stated by the World Health Organization (WHO), active ageing is «the process of optimizing opportunities for health, participation and security in order to enhance quality of life as people age». In line with this vision, cultural participation is an innovative and strategic asset for the enhancement of active ageing policies due to its capacity to produce positive impacts on the mental and physical health and well-being of older people. Although the lack of a national law on active ageing, in Italy, there are some promising developments of new active ageing policies in almost all the regions. At the same time, there are several projects on culture, health and well-being dedicated to older people and carried out at local level. In our country, times seem to be good for transforming practices into policies, promoting a cultural, generative and community welfare.