Abstract

According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (article 27), since 1948 "everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community", but also "to enjoy the arts", a statement formally confirmed some years after by the U.N. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and also by the Preamble of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966). Recently, cultural rights were expressly mentioned also by the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, "referring to the provisions of the international instruments adopted by UNESCO relating to (...) the exercise of cultural rights", like the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage and many others. Nevertheless, in Italy cultural rights are not still fully recognised, respected and protected as such: first of all, the right to enjoy the arts and others rights relating to cultural heritage.