Abstract

After a short outline of the post-war juridical background of the Italian penitentiary system, and notably of the 1975 Reform, the article describes how culture gradually entered Italian prisons' walls: from a steady increase in the offer of formal and university education, to the growing attention devoted to journalism and to a range of cultural and artistic disciplines. Among these, theatre and music are by far the most frequently practised, as well as the most appropriate to foster intercultural dialogue and social cohesion in the growing "melting pot" of Italian prisons' population. Creative writing laboratories are also widespread. More recently, successful films have been shot by famous directors inside our prisons, with prisoners as the main actors. Consequently, artistic training - as actors or in other professions - is starting to be considered as an opportunity to foster the employability of former inmates, and therefore their social reintegration. The article ends with an emphasis on the need to secure more adequate and better coordinated financial resources to carry out these socially relevant projects.