Small Villages - Great Culture

Year 2018

The project aimed to verify how, in the light of recent regulatory and strategic innovations in the cultural sector, the recovery and redevelopment of small villages is a priority for the Italian authorities.

The project consisted in the taxonomic and census analysis of the so-called small or micro-cultural and historical heritage, which need a systemic enhancement (from the ethnographic museum to the museum house), also in terms of professional standards related to marketing, management and accountability, not only of an economic nature.

Interviews were conducted with local authorities and museum professionals, who were also present in IULM  lecture rooms for seminars.

Sources included the accounts of small Italian villages, reports by foundations and websites of representative organizations.

Finally, it was intended to develop the analysis of revenue and business models, underlining the role of marketing, branding and fundraising.

Relevant publications include:

• Esposito A., Besana A., 2018, U.S. community foundations: building a generous society in challenging times. Journal of Nonprofit and Public Sector Marketing, pp. 1-28.
• Besana A., Esposito A., Treu M., 2018, The philanthropy tree of community foundations from ancient to contemporary times. Roots and branches of US and Italian Foundations, in AA. VV., Advances in Time Seriesl Data Methods in Applied Economics Research, Springer Verlag.
• Besana A., 2018, Economics, competition and competition of the Italian Private Welfare State: a cluster analysis, in AA. VV., Eurasian Studies in Business and Economics, Springer Verlag.