About Us

1987

In October in Civita di Bagnoregio, the adventurous meeting takes place between Gianfranco Imperatori, Gianni Letta, Roberto Mostacci, Paolo Portoghesi and Erino Pompei, Mayor of Bagnoregio, from which the idea of Civita emerged.

1988

On 15 November, the Associazione Progetto Civita was created, founded on the intuition of Gianfranco Imperatori, Secretary General of the Association, to combine the protection and enhancement of cultural heritage with a new economic and social “development model”, managing to involve many companies in this challenge.

The presentation takes place of “The environment, memory and the project”, curated by Franco Lattanzi and Sandro Polci, containing the proposal for the recovery of Civita di Bagnoregio and the future of Cultural Heritage.

1990

The Civita Consortium is born and the recovery project starts. Civita di Bagnoregio becomes the prototype for new projects.

1991

Progetto Civita is transformed into Associazione Civita, a national body for the enhancement of cultural heritage. The first collaborations between institutions and private individuals are explored on an experimental basis, with “Noturno Etrusco”. Villa Giulia opens in the evening to guided tours and concerts.

1993

Civita inaugurates its new headquarters in Piazza Venezia.

The Association publishes, at the same time as the Ronchey Law, the first Civita report, “Image and memory”, and promotes interaction between public and private entities.

With the support of ENEL, the Information Point of the Valle dei Calanchi is created.
Prince Charles of England visits Civita di Bagnoregio.
With the new lighting systems, the Imperial Fora shine.
“Nocturno Imperiale” is a great public success.

1994

The Association organises the first cycle of “Culture & Business” events to stimulate debate between public and private, and presents the second Civita report on the analysis of minor historical centres and their enhancement.

1995

Civita proposes the first edition of “Domenica ai Fori”, with the closure to traffic of via dei Fori Imperiali and the entertainment provided there for adults and children.

1996

The third Civita report, on new technologies, “The formats of memory: Cultural heritage and new technologies on the threshold of the third millennium”, is published.

1997

Pubblicità Progresso approves the campaign promoted by Civita on the conservation and enhancement of the Italian artistic heritage. Together with the Centrale Montemartini, the first experience in the management of museum services begins.

1998

Acea, Costa and Civita constitute Zètema which, at the end of 2005, will become a company that is 100% owned by the Municipality of Rome

1999

Civita Servizi is born (now Civita Exhibitions and Museums).

Among the exhibitions, the first success is with “Homo Faber”, inaugurated in Naples in 1999.

The fourth Civita report, “History in the future: Cultural heritage, specialisation of the region and new occupation”, is published. Civita, in consortium with other companies, wins the tenders for the management of additional services in Brera and the Cenacolo Vinciano, Ostia Antica, Villa Adriana, Sistema Museale Napoletano.

2000

Together with the Consortium, the research on Cultural Districts is presented: a new development model that considers cultural heritage as “capital”.

2001

The fifth Civita report, “Museum against Museum: Strategies, tools, results” on the application of the Ronchey Law, is published.

2002

Civita opens its first local office in Milan, after the opening of the one in Naples.

2003

On 26 March, President Ciampi receives Civita at the Quirinale.

2004

The sixth report, “Culture at stake: The new frontiers of museums, education and cultural industry in the age of interactivity”, is published.

2006

Civita’s commitment began, which lasted for many years, in the enhancement of historical routes, and in particular of the Via Francigena, with a project dedicated to the route in Tuscany and Lazio.
In January, the magazine “Civitas” is transformed and published in newsstands, attached to the “Giornale dell’Arte”, the first issue of “Il Giornale di Civita”. On the eve of the elections of 9 April 2006, the Civita Association, the FAI [Italian National Trust] and the WWF [World Wide Fund for Nature] appeal to the President of the Council of the future Italian government.

2007

“Training is worth a fortune: Cultural heritage, knowledge and occupation”, the seventh Civita report, is published.

In November, Civita celebrates its twentieth anniversary in Civita di Bagnoregio, in the presence of the President of the Republic Giorgio Napolitano, and presents the volume “Recovering the past to design the future: Civita 1987-2007”.

The Civita Consortium interrupts its activity, which will be transferred to the Civita Association Study Centre.

2008

The eighth Civita report, “Web Galaxy: Culture in the Network”, dedicated to the theme of technology and culture, is published.

The Civita Association promotes historical itineraries in Southern Italy through the initiative “Rome-Jerusalem: Along the Francigena pilgrims’ routes of the South”.

2009

In April, the founder of Civita, Gianfranco Imperatori, Secretary General of the Association, passes away.

2010

Civita collaborates in the organisation of the first “Art and Culture” summit of Il Sole 24Ore, presenting the results of the research project entitled “The Value of Culture”, promoted within the activities of the companies associated with Civita in the field of culture and art.

2011

The ninth Civita report, “Citymorphosis: Cultural Policies for Changing Cities”, on cultural policies and urban development, is published.

2012

The Association presents the first volume of the series “The Art of Producing Art”, aimed at investigating the role and dynamics of the cultural and creative industry.

On the 25th anniversary of its establishment, Civita celebrates with a great event at the MAXXI-Museo Nazionale delle Arti del XXI secolo in Rome.

2013

On 23 April, Antonio Maccanico, President of the Civita Association, passes away.
Gianni Letta is appointed as the new President.

2014

The second volume of the series entitled “The art of producing art” is released, focused on the design sector.

2015

The Civita Association strongly supports the appeal promoted by the President of the Lazio Region, Nicola Zingaretti, to save Civita di Bagnoregio.

2016

The tenth Civita report, “#Socialmuseums”, dedicated to the relationship between social media and cultural institutions, is published.

2017

The third volume of the series “The art of producing art” is released, dedicated to competitiveness and innovation in culture and tourism.
The guidelines “From CSR to “Corporate Cultural Responsibility”: how to enhance the interventions of companies in culture” are presented with the aim of providing indications for the inclusion of “cultural responsibility” in sustainability strategies.

2018

The Civita Association, with eleven associated companies, carries out the project “WeACT3- Acting together: Technology for art, culture, tourism and the region”, to enhance the Barberini Corsini National Galleries through innovative technological solutions.

2019

The eleventh Civita report, “Millennials and culture in the digital age”, dedicated to consumption and cultural planning between the present and the future, is published.

2020

The Civita Association creates, in collaboration with the Contemporary Art Foundations Committee and Intesa Sanpaolo, a study with detailed mapping of private contemporary art organisations in Italy.
During the first national lockdown to limit the spread of the covid-19 pandemic, the Association launches a writing contest by publishing an ebook entitled “Stories and images: Memory and testimony of experiences during the time of Covid-19”.

2021

The twelfth Civita report, “Next Generation Culture”, is published, dedicated to the processes of digital transformation taking place in the cultural sector, marked by the crisis of the pandemic period and affected more than ever by new developments.

2022

The thirteenth Civita report, “When sustainability meets culture”, is published, which investigates the role that Culture plays within the sustainability practices undertaken by companies and within the context of museum policies.

The future is yet to be written