The Cultural Districts project was launched in 2004 by Fondazione Cariplo, in conjunction with the Lombardy Region and the Polytechnic University of Milan; the aim was to leverage Lombardy’s cultural heritage with a view to development of local areas.

The first experiment was the Magistri Comacini Cultural District, in the province of Como, which launched an innovative model: the cultural district as a local ecosystem in which cultural and environmental heritage, services and production activities operate in synergy.

Notable features of the project:

  • long-term vision
  • investment in human capital
  • integration between culture and production chains
  • innovation in services and methodologies
  • sustainability of actions.

Unique in Italy in terms of duration and size, the project provided for a process of support and verification of the feasibility of the districts in the area, culminating in the creation of six cultural districts in Lombardy.

Thanks to co-financing of €20 million by the Foundation, and the significant contribution of the local areas involved, the following projects have been activated: