Abstract

The celebration of European Capital of Culture was held for the first time in Athens in 1985. In the years that followed, its importance has increased, and now it is one of the most important events in Europe. Beginning with the experience of Glasgow, which was named Capital of Culture in 1990, this experience has become increasingly associated with urban regeneration, and the designation is gaining an even stronger relationship to the development of the cultural aspirations of the city. Monitoring the event and evaluating the chosen cities' achie vements (economic, social and cultural) are becoming fundamental tools for analysis. This chapter focuses on the growing role of the evaluation process, following EU guidelines, and on the role of social impacts in the evaluative discourse. The Italian candidacy process for the 2019 event is considered in depth, with regard to the social dimension of the event's legacy, and methodological issues related to the measurement of social impacts.