Abstract

Economic development is increasingly a question of competitive development between territories, and culture (in the broadest sense of the term, meaning even the knowledge and creative industry economy) is proving to be one of the most powerful agents for attracting productive factors aiming at not only the economic, but also and above all the social growth of communities. This paper stresses the role of local urban authorities and of multiple private-sector actors concerned about both the economic and the social aspects of local development - business and employers' associations, banking system, institutions and non-profit organisations - in producing strategic visions, generating a wide range of cultural enterprises legal models and promoting new criteria of management and accountability both in traditional heritage bodies and in new cultural activities.