Wide-area heritage projects in Lombardy: from a mono-sector to a multi-sector approach

A public-private partnership (P3) and public-private-people partnership (P4) are amongst the institutional options available when it comes to funding cultural heritage management through the involvement of private players pertaining to the business or third sectors, respectively. In light of the growing relevance of P4 operations as a means to improve heritage management, this paper aims at analyzing the initiatives developed by the Fondazione Cariplo banking foundation, which can be considered exemplary instances of P4. A total of two projects were selected, which go by the name of Distretti Culturali and AttivAree, respectively, and may serve as highly indicative examples of community involvement and multi-sector-oriented action. To conduct a truly realistic analysis and reliably measure the adequacy of the outcomes obtained, interviews with the parties involved were performed and direct participation in the projects was provided for. Considering, also, that funding has, so far, typically been aimed at interventions on individual buildings, the foundation has managed to develop some true cross-sector programs, and thus further refine the multi-sector approach most likely to prove useful in future community-centered initiatives. Herein, some of the features are isolated; those which we deem most suitable for adoption in the planning of future cultural heritage-related projects.