More than 151 million euros earmarked for cultural and creative enterprises in the South: this is the budget of the new public notice Cultura Cresce, presented this morning in the Spadolini Hall of the Collegio Romano by the Ministry of Culture. The initiative, promoted by the MiC’s Directorate General for Contemporary Creativity, is part of the National Culture Program 2021-2027, under Action 1.3.1, and aims to strengthen the cultural and creative supply chain in the regions of Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Molise, Puglia, Sardinia and Sicily.The press conference was addressed by Minister of Culture, Alessandro Giuli, Undersecretary for Culture, Lucia Borgonzoni, Director General Contemporary Creativity, Angelo Piero Cappello, and Nicola Macrì, Managing Authority of the National Culture Program (ERDF) 2021-2027 of the Ministry of Culture.
"Culture Grows was born with a specific goal: the growth of cultural enterprises in the South,“ said Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli. ”When we say this we are addressing above all the greenest generations, the territories, the knowledge, the crafts, the languages, the ideas that keep alive a precious, prestigious, and still underrepresented culture. The investment is considerable, with the idea precisely of fermenting the still latent potential with respect to which those seeking institutional dialogue know that they can find it here, in the work that Undersecretary Borgonzoni, Director Cappello and Director Macrì continue to pursue. All of this is in line with the framework of the Olivetti Plan, which you have heard us talk about many times and of which concrete results are already tangible. We care about access to culture by so-called “marginal,” inland and needy areas, through the book chain, and the care of local museums. Culture grows are the watchwords of those who cannot imagine that the development of the less advanced and less represented areas of Italy, and I would add of the Mediterranean, can take place without culture and the Ministry of Culture playing a central role, no less important than cultural diplomacy thanks to which Italy has been revealing itself for years as fundamental to international geopolitical systems. One must start from the assumption that the living forces of culture, and the interpenetration of public and private, still have enormous potential. And these find their expression within the guidelines and activities that the Ministry of Culture conducts, under the banner of a rooted, identity-based, plural vision of our civilization."
“Our action to support the supply chain of cultural and creative enterprises continues,” says Undersecretary of State for Culture Lucia Borgonzoni. “Today we reach a new milestone in the path we have been on for years now, which I have always followed with particular attention, working on the grounding of tools truly capable of nurturing that hotbed of cultural and economic growth represented by the sector, projecting it more and more into an international context. Not only funding, and I’m thinking of the 155 million euros from MiC’s Pnrr funds earmarked to accompany its digital and green transition, a plan that has seen a great response along the Peninsula. I am also referring to the new opportunities for promotion and enhancement of the sector created with the framework of measures that we have included in the Made in Italy Law, starting with the regulatory definition of cultural and creative enterprises up to the investment dedicated to them of three million euros a year for ten years. Culture Grows is the result and together an initiative that will be able to breathe new life into the policies pursued so far.”
“With Cultura Cresce we are taking an important step in strengthening the cultural and creative ecosystem of Southern Italy, supporting businesses that represent a decisive engine of innovation, cohesion and development for the territories,” adds Director General Contemporary Creativity of the Ministry of Culture Angelo Piero Cappello. “This intervention confirms our willingness to invest in projects capable of generating economic and cultural value, fostering new skills, new languages and new employment opportunities. We are working so that Italian creativity finds increasingly solid conditions to grow, take root and compete, while contributing to a contemporary and positive vision of our country’s development.”
“The measure represents the heart of the National Culture Program,” says Nicola Macrì, Managing Authority of the Culture PN (ERDF) 2021-2027 of the Ministry of Culture. “Italy is the only member state in Europe that has a Program, from the resources of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), entirely dedicated to Culture, attesting, with the Decree of Minister Giuli of March 20, 2025, No. 72, among the first Nations for allocation of resources and activation of financial instruments, for the implementation of cohesion policies. The initiative will be able to reach all potential beneficiaries, even the most distracted, in view of the mentoring and accompanying action that will see the Ministry constantly engaged.”
It was recalled that, in implementation of EU Regulation 2021/1060, by Decree No. 72 of March 2025 the Ministry established the Cultural and Creative Enterprises Fund 2021-2027, endowed with 151,710,000 euros. The Fund is the financial instrument designed to support the establishment, consolidation and competitive positioning of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises active in the cultural and creative sectors in the regions involved. Within the Culture 2021-2027 NP, culture is recognized as a cross-cutting factor in development and cohesion policies and is considered an element capable of generating relevant impacts in territorial growth processes. Priority 1 of the Program, dedicated to broadening access to digital heritage and strengthening the competitiveness of cultural and creative enterprises, provides with Action 1.3.1 an intervention aimed at supporting already existing realities, stimulating the birth of new businesses and fostering new employment. The objective is to incentivize projects and initiatives that, in the medium and long term, contribute to the development of a wider cultural market and the consolidation of the entire supply chain. The effectiveness of the intervention is measured by outcome and output indicators. The former concern the number of new jobs at the beneficiaries and the increase in turnover of the supported enterprises. The output indicators, on the other hand, measure the total number of enterprises that will benefit from the planned facilities, including social enterprises and Third Sector entities.
The notice is divided into three lines of intervention. Chapter A is dedicated to enterprises that have been operating in the cultural and creative supply chain for at least five years and aims at their consolidation. Chapter B is aimed at new businesses established for less than five years and individuals who intend to start a business in the cultural and creative sector. Chapter C targets social enterprises, third sector entities, associations and foundations that continuously operate in the sector and carry out an economic activity.
Invitalia, the National Agency for Investment Attraction and Business Development, is in charge of managing the entire procedure: from the processing of applications to the granting and disbursement of subsidies, up to the planned checks on the funded projects. Applications must be submitted exclusively through the IT platform made available by Invitalia. The window for submission will open at 12 noon on December 10, 2025. Grants are awarded through a counter evaluation procedure, with applications reviewed in chronological order until the available resources are exhausted. The public notice and its annexes can be accessed through the linkindicatedby the Ministry of Culture.
 |
| MiC, over 151 million for cultural and creative enterprises in southern Italy |
Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.
