Diagnosis Document

Transcription

Diagnosis Document

Diagnosis Document
1.
Introduction
First and foremost we must specify the territorial “boundaries” of the analysis
conducted. The diagnosis was effectuated concentrically: beginning with data
referring to the territory of the municipality of Siena, it was progressively
extended to the surrounding area and provincial territory, without, however,
losing sight of the point of departure. This is because in recent decades, Siena
has become increasingly a point of reference for a few smaller towns (bordering
municipalities) which are closely linked to it by intensive, day-to-day economic,
social and cultural relationships. The analyses conducted here thus take into
account the extended urban continuity and the high degree of integration and
interdependence of economic processes between the city and the territory of the
Province of Siena.
The Sienese economic system has the greatest degree of development of the
Tuscan Local Economic Systems. The urban area of Siena thus represents, along
with Florence, one of the strong points in the connective network between the
region and the outside area, and for this reason it is classified as an “open urban
system.”
With regard to possible outcomes of this analysis, it seemed to us more
opportune to provide a picture that was not limited only to the provincial
capital, but which sought to grasp the dynamics relating to the entire provincial
territory in such a way as to provide elements useful to policy planners and for
the definition of the development policies of territorial bodies in the province of
Siena.
2.
The general characteristics of the location
2.1
Physical, demographic, socio-economic, industrial, and professional
characteristics of the location
(this section will based on quantitative supply information about territorial
dimensions, temperature, GDP, crime rate, etc.)
Territorial dimensions, temperature
The city of Siena has a surface area of 118.7 square kilometers and a population
density of 411.49 inhabitants per square kilometer. It stands at 322 meters
above sea level. The only part that can be defined as a “plain”, due to its relative
breadth and incline, is the band along the Arbia River on the eastern boundary
of the Municipality, although municipal territory is not characterized by notable
unevenness, but only limited systems of hills and medium and low altitudes.
The average temperature during the summer months is 19.2C°, while that
during the winter period is 5.1 C°, and annual precipitation is estimated on
average at 738.7 mm.
Anthropized zones make up approximately 22% of municipal territory (about
2,647 ha), while territory utilizable for agricultural purposes makes up the
remaining 78% (approximately 9,218 ha), divided among olive groves, sowable
land, wooded sowable land, cultivation systems and vineyards.
Elicona Società Cooperativa - Diagnosis document
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Since antiquity, building took place in the agrarian territory, favoring, for both
practical and health reasons, areas along ridges or hilltops. The nucleus of the
city of Siena, in particular, arose and developed on three hills, with a progressive
expansion that favored the ridge tops, leaving the valleys between unoccupied.
Due to this type of use of the land, deeply rooted in local tradition, an
inseparable link between the built-up zones and green areas was created, which
allows for visual and spatial continuity between peripheral zones of the city
center and the Historic center.
The countryside is generally cultivated up to the immediate periphery of the
city, and conservation of these semi-urban zones has proven to be of
fundamental importance, as they have been – and continue to be – essentially
elements of the structure and identity of the urban organism.
Demographic characteristics
The city of Siena has a small population (52,625 inhabitants, of which 25,321
men and 29,177 women), does not fall within a metropolitan area and is far from
large transportation centers, but thanks to a few distinctive characteristics, it
manages to excel within the national sphere and to be an integral part of very
interesting dynamics of development.
Crime rate
Siena’s history and tradition are not marked by particular elements of social
suffering linked to criminality. In 1997, the proportion of criminality per class of
seriousness expressed a value (4.510) inferior to both the national (4.966) and
regional (6.180) averages, while the even lower level of the province (3.436)
demonstrated that in the case of Siena as in other areas, criminality is
concentrated mainly in urban centers.
The perception citizens have of their own level of safety is in line with the
statistics. According to research conducted by the University of Siena in 2004
(Research on the Sienese state of safety), within the ambit of the Agenda 21
Local program, 95.5 % of citizens feel safe to go out during the day, and nearly 8
out of 10 Sienese judge night-time outings safe as well.
There is also a high level of perceived security among economic players, and
according to research carried out by the University of Siena under the aegis of
the project “Siena safe city 2004,” 82% of Sienese merchants feel “safe” in
transacting their business, and 10% of these feel “very safe.” Only 15.8% say that
they feel “fairly unsafe” while only 2.2% of those interviewed declare that they
feel “very unsafe.”
2.2
The industrial infrastructure
(This section will describe the main economic sectors and how they have been
developing over time, the employment distribution in the different sectors, etc.)
In the Sienese economic system, the service sector constitutes the fundamental
structure and absorbs about 78% of total jobs. The service-orientation of
employment activity centers in particular around two large poles: banking, due
to the presence of Monte dei Paschi di Siena, and learning, thanks to a
prestigious, internationally-known university and numerous institutions. The
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presence of artistic excellence and a rich cultural heritage are among the main
factors that influenced the birth and development of important cultural, artistic
and economic activities.
The overall commercial balance of the Sienese urban area is positive, due mainly
to the balance generated by exchanges with the rest of the region. Going into
detail by sector highlights a precise dichotomy between the service sector and
the rest of the area’s economy. The service sector in fact realizes positive
balances of payment, both within and outside Tuscany, which have proven to be
significant enough to balance the deficit of the industrial and agricultural
sectors. Furthermore, in spite of the fact that residents’ tourism consumption is
decidedly high (this is one of the richest areas of Tuscany), expenditures
imputable to large tourist flows (including commuters for study or work) make
the balance of local tourism payments abundantly positive. The Sienese area is
thus in credit both internally and externally and in terms of both the
commercial and tourism balances.
Another particularly highly developed sector is that of professional occupations,
which assume double the regional weight thanks also to very strong growth
during the five-year period 1991-1996 (+32%).
Characteristic business activities include the production of typical sweets, like
the celebrated Panforte, and handicraft production of wrought iron and
ceramics.
There are also nuclei of highly research-oriented industries, and segments of
advanced private and public services, among which the local health system
stands out. In the deliberation of the Regional Council of Tuscany (n. 69 dated
21/02/2000), the Sienese Urban Area is classified among specialized productive
local manufacturing systems in the sectors of chemistry and food industries.
Scientific research and technology are points of excellence in the Sienese area in
the field of human disease, especially through the efforts of Chiron (now
Novartis) and Sienabiotech. Chiron Vaccines is a multinational leader in the
vaccine sector (it was recently acquired by Novartis), and with approximately
1,100 employees carries out research activities and produces vaccines against
infectious diseases. In the same area occupied by Novartis, Sienabiotech also
operates. This company, the formation of which was promoted by the MPS
Foundation, carries out research for the prevention, diagnosis and cure of
human diseases. In particular, the company has the goal of promoting,
financing and realizing projects in the biology and biotechnology sectors.
The further growth of scientific research applied to biotechnologies is entrusted
to the re-organization and development of the Scientific Park. The development
of this endowment of Sienese territory is supported by a plurality of subjects,
including the Sienese Hospital Corporation, Monte dei Paschi Bank, the
Chamber of Commerce, the Municipality, the Monte dei Paschi Foundation, the
Province, the Tuscan Region, the Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa, the Scuola
Superiore S. Anna of Pisa, the Università degli Studi of Pisa and the Università
degli Studi of Siena, Chiron Vaccines, Siena Biotech and the Industrialists
Association of Siena.
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In this framework, in December of 2004 the Monte dei Paschi Foundation
promoted the creation of “Toscana Life Sciences”, a non-profit private/civil
body set up for the purposes of scientific research in spheres such as the cure
and diagnosis of human pathologies, the prevention and limitation of damage
provoked by drug abuse, the study of diseases with etiologies of an
environmental nature, the development and production of new pharmaceuticals
and vaccines for human and animal use, and the planning of scientifictechnological structures for biomedical and agro-alimentary applications.
2.3
Location identity
(this section will include what is culturally and physically emblematic about the
location - its level of distinctiveness)
The main elements characterizing local identity are:
the Palio
the territory
wine and gastronomic products
handicrafts
The Palio
The palio dates back to the XII century: it is not a manifestation unearthed from
the past and organized to entertain tourists, but represents the life of the
Sienese people over time and in its varied aspects and sentiments. The
protagonists of the Palio are the “contradas”, territorial organisms made up of
groups of the inhabitants of the city’s neighborhoods. The city is divided into
seventeen Contradas, with borders established in 1729 by the Pronouncement of
Violante of Bavaria, Governess or the City. Each Contrada is like a tiny state,
governed by a Commission headed by a Prior and led by a Captain during the
period of the Palio. Each possesses within its territory a Church, with an
attached headquarters and museum where all its heritage is conserved: relics,
victory banners, costumes, flags and works of art.
Ten of the seventeen Contradas participate in each race; races are run twice a
year (July 2nd and August 16th), and the winner receives the Drappellone as a
prize, a silk banner painted by a different contemporary artist each time, some
of whom are quite famous: Renato Guttuso, Mimmo Paladino, Joe Tilson, Jime
Dine, etc…
During the four days preceding the race, meaningful moments of great
emotional impact unfold: the assignment of the horses by random drawing, the
trail runs, the Contrada dinners, the jockey’s mass and the blessing of the horse.
On the day of the palio, the race is preceded by the historic parade, and at the
end of the race the winning Contrada members flock to the Basilica of
Provenzano in July and the Duomo in August to give thanks to the Virgin Mary.
The territory
The distinctive and peculiar characteristics of Siena are also closely tied to the
territory of the province, which boasts an exceptional variety of environments
and local economies. To the north is the celebrated Chianti zone (part of which
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is within the province of Florence), which offers an incomparable landscape
with expanses of vineyards and olive groves that produce well-known
agricultural products. Much-visited locales near Siena that attract international
tourists are Monteriggioni and San Gimignano, Montalcino (home of the prized
Brunello wine), Pienza and Montepulciano. A typical feature of the Sienese
territory is the presence of the “crete” or chalk/clay hills, an enthralling
autochthonous landscape that has inspired artists and writers. The distinctive
element of the city itself, recognized worldwide, is the Piazza del Campo with its
Torre del Mangia tower.
Gastronomy
The “Terre di Siena,” (territories of Siena), in addition to being the realm of
some of Italy’s most famous DOCG and DOC wines, give rise to other renowned
“denomination of origin-protected” products, such as the extra-virgin olive oils
Chianti Classico DOP and Terre di Siena DOP. Other products, such as Cinta
Senese pork and San Gimignano saffron, are awaiting DOP recognition. Siena
has a long culinary tradition, due also to its wealth during the Medieval period
and the presence of numerous taverns and inns along the Via Francigena, as
demonstrated by research conducted by various restaurateurs.
Craftsmanship
Handicraft activities are still carried out in local workshops, maintaining the
character of family-businesses. In addition to the classic activities necessary in
any city, there are also those linked to the restoration of works of art and
antique furniture. In Siena, there are still artists and craftsmen considered
anachronistic in other places: “lustrini” (furniture polishers, who deal especially
with antiques), icon painters, copiers of antique pictorial works, embroiderers
specializing in Sienese style (with classical Sienese themes, such as the deer
found in inlaid pavement of the Duomo), ceramic decorators and stone cutters
who hand-chisel the paving stones of the city’s streets.
2.4
Location’s creative capacity
(this section will include comments on the level of diversity, talent, innovation, and
technological capacity)
Research conducted by the Creativity Group Europe and published in 2005 with
the title “Italy in the Creative Era”, edited by Irene Tinagli and Richard Florida,
analyzes the creative index of the principal Italian cities (103 provincial
capitals), based on Richard Florida’s 3 T model – Technology, Talent, Tolerance
– a new paradigm of economic development. According to this model,
technology, talent and tolerance are necessary dimensions, but none is solely
sufficient to guarantee the economic development of a territory.
In general, Siena has a high position in the ranking of Italian creativity (ICI –
Italian Creativity Index): it places 18 of 103 cities. The Sienese creativity index,
however, was not composed homogenously with respect to the three levels of
analysis. Here below we see the specific results of the research.
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Talent – index 15
The index is made up of the following indicators:
Creativity class index 20
Human capital index 15
Researchers index 13
Technology – index 73
The index is made up of the following indicators:
High Tech (production in the sector) index 86
Innovation (patents and development) index 71
Connectivity (Connections and networks) index 66
Tolerance – index 16
Made up of:
Diversity (presence of foreigners) index 20
Integration (Education level, mixed marriages, children’s school attendance)
index 11
Gay tolerance index 24
It is easy to note the significant difference between the Talent and Tolerance
indexes, on the one hand, and the Technology index on the other.
With regard to the Technology index, however, we can make a relevant
addendum. After 2001, the city of Siena was wired, and the city area now makes
use of a broad band mixed fiber optic/coaxial network, which significantly
modifies at least the third indicator of the index, Connectivity. In support of this
hypothesis we can also cite a 2005 National Institute of Statistics survey
according to which the number of personal computers present in the city’s
homes and the number of internet access points grew, respectively, by 7.3% and
16.3% between 2000 and 2005.
With regard to the Tolerance index, although we do not yet have statistical and
aggregate data available, we can note a trend of worsening perception on the
part of citizens regarding the presence of foreigners in town and their possible
integration.
In favor of the Integration index, on the other hand, are services for foreign
citizens which both the Municipality of Siena and the Province have created in
recent years: welcome and support services; job-search support services; Italian
language and culture courses; specific health services.
3.
The structure of the population
3.1
Demographic structure of the resident population and its evolution in
time
(this section will describe in detail the local resident population, comparing data
between the historic centre and the LUZ, between males and females, describing
internal and external mobility, describing its evolution during the last 5 years, etc.)
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Population
The resident population in the Sienese urban area (based on census data from
the last fifty years) saw a 4.7% increase from 1951 to 2001. However, in the last
thirty years there has been a population decrease exclusively in the city of Siena:
from 1971 to 2001, it lost more than 10,000 inhabitants.
The reasons behind this phenomenon of residential displacement from the
provincial capital can be individuated in the intertwining of at least four
processes:
-
the containment of urban residential growth carried out by the
administration in order to safeguard the city’s historic-artistic heritage;
-
the progressive increase in value of real estate in the city;
-
competition created in the rental market by the numerous student
population;
-
the supply in bordering municipalities of residential properties with good
quality/price ratios
Siena and the bordering municipalities (Asciano, Castelnuovo Berardenga,
Monteriggioni, Monteroni, Sovicille) have thus been the site of phenomena that
are typical of the central-suburban relationship, behaving as a single organism.
The differences between the respective growth trends are sharp: the main town
centers of the four municipalities grew during the period of reference (19711991) by about 2,400 inhabitants, while the secondary towns grew by about
10,500 units.
On the basis of population movement data, the natural negative balance of the
wider urban area was not compensated for by the migratory balance, thus the
total balance is in debit. During the years 1998-2000 we saw a birth rate (7.0
per thousand) well below the national and provincial rates, and a mortality rate
higher than that in Tuscany and the province.
Mobility
The main external transportation infrastructures that serve the city of Siena are
the Siena-Florence motorway and the connector to the south that links the
provincial capital with the A1 motorway. The rail network is limited to a single
one-track non-electrified section that links Siena with Empoli and Florence to
the north and Chiusi to the south.
The flows of commuters using the system highlight the area’s very marked
openness to the outside. While on the outgoing side, the system shows a good
capacity for self-containment (about 87% of employed residents find work in the
area), on the incoming side, it shows a very high dependence on the outside:
more than a third of local workers reside outside the urban area and travel to
Siena daily for work. This strong opening suggests that the effective boundaries
of the local system, at least in terms of commuting, involve to various degrees
the Sienese Chianti zone, the Merse River valley and the Arbia River valley.
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3.2
Social and economic characteristics of the population
(this section will describe the level of education, social participation, income, labour
participation rate, employment rate, etc with considerations about differences
between male and female population, trends in time, etc.)
The total employment rate by province for the three-year period 1999-2001
shows Siena with the highest level in Tuscany (66.5% in 2001 versus an average
of 61.1 %), and therefore the unemployment rate is the lowest (3.1% versus a
regional average of 5.1% in 2001), with a decreasing trend in the three-year
period cited.
The education level in the area of Siena and the 5 bordering municipalities,
thanks also to the demand for qualified personnel generated by the University,
hospitals and the banking sector, surpasses the regional average by about 50%.
In terms of modes of participation in the labor market, we see a quota of steady
work (in particular subordinate) significantly higher than the regional average.
Applying with some prudence the employment data in our possession to the
demographic composition of the residents of Siena, we can consider that of the
approximately 30,000 jobs present in the Municipality, about 11-12,000 are
held by residents in bordering areas.1
Examining the spatial distribution of the professional composition, we find a
generalized percentage decrease of blue-collar employee components and, to a
lesser degree, of self-employment; on the other hand, categories in growth are
entrepreneurship, professional occupations, management and white-collar
components, of which concentration in the provincial capital, as well as income
level, is greater.
In the Province of Siena the per capita GDP in 2003 was equivalent to 22.7
thousand euros, a factor which places the area in a very good position.
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4.1
The tourism sector and tourist profile
The tourism infrastructures
(this section will describe the available accommodation structures, their evolution in
time, etc.)
Regarding the composition and number of tourist infrastructures, we have data
covering the entire provincial territory. The utilization of this data seems in any
case coherent if we consider the small size of the municipal territory in relation
to the flow of tourists.
As of 31/12/2004 the Sienese provincial territory had 2,277 hospitality
structures, for a total of 55,860 beds. The supply is highly differentiated: the
hotel sector is made up of 508 establishments and 29,791 beds, while the
complementary sector has 1,769 businesses and a capacity of 26,069 units.
Various types of enterprises are well-represented within the two sectors,
however, the elements that distinguish the Sienese hospitality industry are, on
the one hand, the presence of five hotel categories, most heavily weighted
1
Industry and service sector census
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towards three-star structures, and on the other hand, the high density of
agritourisms (farm stay properties) distributed throughout the provincial
territory.
Despite the decline in the tourist flow during the last two years, in 2004 the
number of tourism-hospitality businesses increased considerably and, in line
with general trends in the sector in recent years, growth has been particularly
concentrated in the non-hotel branches: agritourism, room rental, and vacation
houses and apartments.
With regard to hotel hospitality, there has been an increase in the category of
mid to high-level hotels, while those of inferior categories have declined.
4.2
Demographic and socio-economic characteristics of tourists
(this section will include arrivals, stays, purpose of stays, visited attractions, etc. based
on appraisal form as well as additional information)
Tourists who stay in the area utilize hospitality businesses/services slightly
more than the average for Tuscany (index 1.46). Most of the total tourist
presences lodge in hospitality structures (69.2%) and in second homes (17.6%),
while “non-official” presences represent only 13.2% of the total. This is because
in recent years the decrease in Italian tourists has corresponded to a slight
increase in foreign tourists. The average length of tourist stay in town is rather
low (2.5 days), and below the regional average (3.8); it is higher in non-hotel
structures, especially if we take into account the data relating to the average stay
of Italians (6.6 days).
The Annual survey on confluence of visitors in Italian museums 2 by the Touring
Club Italiano shows that during the period 1999-2002 as a whole, between
430,000 and 370,000 visitors passed through Siena’s museums. The same
survey shows that the only Sienese exhibition that was among the most-visited
in Italy was “Il Gotico sulle via di Francia”, (Santa Maria della Scala March 23September 29 2002), with 50,299 visitors.
5.
Culture and the Cultural Industries3
5.1
Local heritage and museums (see also “Attachment A”)
this
(
section describes local heritage, other cultural attractions, museums, arts
galleries, etc.)
Siena possesses a substantial stylistic unity in its Medieval urban appearance,
and has one of the most important artistic and landscape patrimonies in the
world. Not only is the quantity of artistic and landscape assets high (86.7% of
municipal territory is subject to building/landscape restrictions, and certified
historic buildings are numerous), their variety is also extraordinary.
At the center of the city’s social life is the beautiful, shell-shaped Medieval
Piazza del Campo. It is surrounded by a series of ancient palazzos, such as
2
Annual survey on confluence of visitors in Italian museums – Summer 2003 edition by the
TCI
3
Note: for an in-depth description of the local heritage see file Attachment A
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Palazzo Sansedoni (XIII – XIV century) and Palazzo Pubblico (City Hall),
erected between 1297 and 1342, one of the finest Gothic-style buildings in
Tuscany. Alongside the Palazzo Pubblico stands the 102-meter-high Torre del
Mangia tower. The Duomo, with its lower-level Baptistery, is a stupendous
construction realized for the most part between the Romanesque and Gothic
periods. Inside it conserves sculptural works by Giovanni and Nicola Pisano,
Arnolfo di Cambio, Tino di Camaino, Lorenzo Ghiberti, Donatello, Michelangelo
Buonarroti and Gian Lorenzo Bernini, as well as painted works by Vecchietta,
Beccafumi and Pinturicchio. Other important buildings include Palazzo ChigiSaracini, the Palazzo del Magnifico, the Medici Fortress, Palazzo Tolomei and
Palazzo Piccolomini (today the site of the State Archive).
Siena also has important churches and basilicas: the Basilica de’ Servi, Basilica
di San Francesco, Basilica di San Domenico, Basilica dell’Osservanza and the
Sanctuary of Santa Caterina.
The symbol of the city’s economic power is Piazza Salimbeni, delimited by the
homonymous Palazzo, (headquarters of the Monte dei Paschi Bank), the
Renaissance Palazzo Spannocchi and the Sixteenth-century Palazzo Contucci.
The vast cultural offerings include open spaces, museum and theaters, and
involves the following institutions.
The Santa Maria della Scala Museum Complex
This is an immense cultural construction site, linked to Palazzo Squarcialupi,
covering 2500 square meters. Its cultural mission comprises exhibitions,
seminars, conferences, guided visits, concerts, shows, encounters and
conventions. Santa Maria della Scala hosts the Briganti Library (owned by the
Municipality), the headquarters of the European Center for Research and
Restoration (Cerr) and the Archeological Museum of Siena.
The Civic Museum
The museum is in one of the most important Gothic public buildings, the City
Hall, and conserves masterpieces of Sienese art and an historic-artistic heritage
of extraordinary value: the Maestà and the Guidoriccio by Simone Martini, the
Good and Bad Government frescoes by Ambrogio Lorenzetti, the Presa di
Giuncarico by Duccio di Buoninsegna, and frescoes by Spinello Aretino, Taddeo
di Bartolo and Domenico Beccafumi. Siena’s Civic Museum is today one of the
most visited civic museums in Italy.
Palazzo delle Papesse Contemporary Art Center
Palazzo delle Papesse Contemporary Art Center is committed to experimental
research and international experiences with expositions, editorial initiatives and
didactic activities.
The Children’s Museum
This museum realizes exhibitions, shows and theatrical experiences, visual art
works, laboratories and didactic activities for pre-schools and elementary and
middle schools.
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National Pinacoteca of Siena
The Pinacoteca, inaugurated in 1932 in its current location in the Brigici and
Buonsignori Palazzos, is one of the most important Italian collections of
Fourteenth and Fifteenth century gold-background paintings on wood panels.
The Sienese school is represented with works dating from the XII to XVIII
centuries.
Museum of Metropolitan Works, Vestry Board of the Cathedral of Siena
This museum contains works of art drawn mainly from the Duomo, including
the famous Maestà by Duccio di Buoninsegna, the cathedral’s stained glass
window (by the same artist) and sculptures by Giovanni Pisano and Donatello.
It also comprises the Crypt of the Duomo, which conserves wall paintings dating
back to the end of the XIII century.
Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art
This new museum is located in several rooms adjacent to the Oratory of San
Bernardino, which were completely restored in 1999. It constitutes an essential
reference point for the history of sacred art in the territory.
Natural History Museum of the Academy of Physiocritics
The Academy of Sciences of Siena, known as that of the “Physiocritics” (judges
of nature), was founded in 1691. The original nucleus of its natural collections
dates back to the mid-XVIII century. The Historic Archive conserves handwritten documents relating to the life and history of the Academy and, more
generally, the history of science in Siena.
Botanical Gardens
The Botanical Gardens and the Herbarium (Botanical Museum Section) are the
museum structures of the Department of Environmental Sciences, nationally
recognized as centers for the conservation of historical and modern collections,
for the divulgation and promotion of scientific culture, and as a resource for
living and conserved material for university research.
Contrada Museums
Unique to the city of Siena are the 17 Contrada museums, which contain an
extraordinary treasure of relics, documents, exquisite costumes and Palio
banners.
Museum of the Society of Executors of Pious Dispositions
The museum conserves a collection of sacred objects and paintings mainly from
the society of Disciplinati.
Bologna-Buonsignori Museum
The Bologna-Buonsignori Museum is part of the museum complex of the
Society of Executors of Pious Dispositions
Municipal Library of the Deaf
The Municipal Library of the Deaf has a patrimony that is by far the richest of
all of Tuscany’s local library institutions, and one of the foremost in all of Italy.
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State Archive of Siena
The State Archive of Siena is one of 103 State Archives in Italy and conserves
archival material produced prior to the Unification of Italy in Siena by its
Government and, after the Unification, documentation from government
administrative offices and tribunals located in the city and in the province, as
well as many non-government archives from various eras.
Museum of the Biccherne
Within the State Archive of Siena, the collection of the Biccherna (financial
magistrate) Tablets, unique in all the world, is on permanent display.
Municipal Historic Archive
The Historic Archive of the Municipality of Siena conserves about 20,000
dossiers and registers relating to the city administration between the XVI and
XX centuries, and those of some defunct offices and institutions. The Archive’s
activity, aimed at safeguarding the city’s history as a fundamental element of the
present, has developed on various fronts over the past five years.
Other archives
With regard to non-governmental archives, those of note include:
the Notarial Archive; the Archive of the great Hospital of S. Maria della Scala;
the Archbishops’ Archive; the Historic Archive of the Society of Executors of
Pious Dispositions, which, along with the important archive of the Company of
Santa Maria under the Vaults of the Hospital, conserves the historic part of the
Archive of the San Niccolò Psychiatric Hospital; the Historic Archive of Monte
dei Paschi di Siena; the Historic Archive of the Metropolitan Works; the Historic
Archive of the University of Siena; and the Archives of the Chigi-Saracini family.
Deserving of separate mention is the Diplomatic Archive, the second in Italy in
terms of number of units after the State Archive of Florence, counting 62,441
parchments dating from 736 to the XIX century.
Theaters
Siena’s theatrical season involves the Teatro dei Rozzi and the Teatro dei
Rinnovati, both managed by the Municipality.
5.2
Local cultural industries4
(this section describes the local cultural industries distinguishing them according to the
divisions provided in the appraisal form between creation, production, presentation,
distribution)
Vernice Progetti Culturali
Vernice Progetti Culturali Srl is a new instrumental company of the Monte dei
Paschi di Siena Foundation for activities linked to exhibitions and cultural
heritage and events. Vernice deals with organization and promotion, placing
itself at the disposition of stakeholders, but does not handle cultural planning or
the scientific part of projects, which continue to utilize the highest level of
4
Note: for an in-depth description of local cultural industries see file Attachment A
12
professional services available in various institutional realms and sectors of
study.
Chigiana Academy
Each year, the Chigiana Academy presents the Micat in Vertice winter concert
season, the Sienese Musical Week and the Chigiana Musical Summer, as well as
high-level summer music master courses.
Rinaldo Franci Institute
The R. Franci Musical Institute of Siena is an accredited institution on a par
with state Conservatories which is now included in the plan for reform and requalification of Italian music teaching institutions. Since 2004, the Institute has
featured the “Rinaldo Franci” Orchestra Stabile of Siena, made up of students,
instructors and permanent orchestra members.
Siena Jazz
Siena Jazz is a non-profit cultural association, born on September 9, 1977 and
re-formed as a mixed public-private association on November 20, 1991, with
three founding partners: the Municipality of Siena, the Provincial
Administration of Siena and the Sienese Jazz Association. Since its birth, Siena
Jazz has distinguished itself for its work in three main sectors: teaching,
production and research.
Elicona Cooperative
Created thanks to an entrepreneurial idea rewarded by the Region of Tuscany
and supported by the Provincial Administration of Siena, Elicona carries out
museum services, museum educational activities and activities to promote
cultural heritage in collaboration with Sienese institutions.
Siena Viva
The Siena Viva Cooperative operates in the sector of cultural heritage and
tourism, performing services for the safeguarding and appreciation of historic,
artistic and cultural heritage.
European Center for research on conservation and restoration
This organism is dedicated to advanced research in the sector of conservation
and restoration of cultural heritage. In June of 2005, the Center moved to
Palazzo Squarcialupi, with the goal of creating a headquarters of reference for
all restorers working in or passing through Sienese territory.
Enoteca Italiana of Siena
The Enoteca Italiana is made up of two organic parts, the Institute and the
Enoteca, which have different areas of competency but are both aimed at
increasing appreciation of the culture of wine, the image of denominations of
origin, geographic indications, ties with gastronomy and all the sector’s
productive activities.
Arsnova, Academy for Digital Arts and Sciences
ARSNOVA Academy for Digital Arts and Sciences, in association with the
Municipality of Siena and the University of Siena, carries out training and
production activities related to new media, with particular attention to
applications linked to art, architecture and design.
13
Dance companies
The Teatro dei Rozzi is the artistic residence of three dance companies, all active
on national and international levels: Motus Danza A.c.; Compagnia di danza
Francesca Selva; Compagnia Virgilio Sieni Danza.
The activities of non-profit cultural agencies also have particular relevance in
the Sienese cultural panorama.
La Corte dei Miracoli
“The Court of Miracles” – Contemporary Culture Center is an association that
has operated for the last eight years, with the support of the Municipality of
Siena, intended as an experimental laboratory, social space and intercultural
center.
Arci Siena
L’ ARCI - NUOVA ASSOCIACTION is a national association, with provincial
branches, that carries out cultural and social activities and brings together many
other federated associations (the Arci Ragazzi; the CIGS - Centro Interculturale
GLBT Senese and the Circolo Arci Ganimede; the UISP – Unione Italiana Sport
per Tutti)
Lut – Libera Università del Teatro
The Lut (Free University of Theater) is a theater group that articulates its
activities in different directions (theatrical productions, training and social
activities, education, research) with the goal of restoring to the theater a social
necessity directly tied to aesthetic and formal research.
Cesvot
Cesvot - Centro Servizi Volontariato Toscana (Tuscany Volunteering Services
Center) – is a volunteer association, founded by a group of associations, which
offers training, consulting and planning assistance services to the more than
2,500 volunteer associations present in Tuscan territory. Cesvot is present
throughout the territory, with 11 territorial delegations.
5.3
Stimulation of heritage5
(this section will describe in numbers and qualitative description all the events
normally organised during a year, i.e. concerts, festivals, dance, temporary
exhibitions, etc.)
Concerts and shows
The offering of concerts and shows is significant and high-quality, to the point
that Siena is considered a city of music, thanks to its many prestigious classical,
rock and jazz events; the master courses for musicians at the Chigiana Academy
and Siena Jazz; and the internationally-known series of events “La Città
Aromatica”.
5
Note: for an in-depth and exhaustive description of the events of recent years in Siena see file
Attachment B
14
Large events
Over the past five years, approximately 400,000 spectators have participated in
large cultural events realized in Siena, of which we list the most significant here
below, from 2002 to 2005 (see attachment for complete data).
Year
Event
Participants
12 February “Giostra del mondo” Carnival in Piazza del Campo
2 August opera ‘Rigoletto’ in Piazza del Campo
From 27 to 30 August ‘La Città Aromatica’ concerts and dance
Concert series ‘Festa della musica’ from 24 November to 15
December
New Year’s 2003 (concerts and recreational activities from 13
December 2002 to 11 January 2003)
10,000
25,000
40,000
1,300
4 March Carnival in Piazza del Campo
24 May Concert by Andrea Bocelli
12 July Concert by Maggio Musicale Fiorentino conducted by
Maestro Zubin Mehta
26/30 August Concert series ‘La città Aromatica’
6 September opera ‘Turandot’ in Piazza del Campo
New Year’s 2004 (events and recreational activities 27 December
2003 to 6 January 2004)
10,000
30,000
15,000
2002
27,600
2003
30,000
25,000
20,000
2004
15 July 2004 Concert by the orchestra and chorus of the National
Academy of Santa Cecilia
‘La Città Aromatica’ 24 July – 26 August (concerts and shows)
New Year’s 2005 (from 19 December 2004 to January 2005)
10,000
17,000
30,000
La Città Aromatica – 24 July/26 August (concerts and shows)
62,000
2005
Following is a brief description of other events, realized in recent years in Siena
and its province, which offered distinctive elements within the local panorama.
Arte all’arte
Arte all’Arte – Art, Architecture and Landscape – is a territorial project
promoted by the Arte Continua Association, in collaboration with numerous
Tuscan municipalities and provinces, for the purpose of organizing exhibitions
and installations through artistic experimentation that takes into account the
most relevant aspects of contemporaneity and tradition and puts local cultures
in contact with those produced in large cities.
Terra di Siena Film Festival
Held in Siena during the last week of September, since 1996, this yearly event
dedicated to independent cinema from around the world presents a thematic
retrospective of Italian cinema and an international full-length comedy
competition. Carlo Verdone has been the Artistic Director since 2003.
International Short Film Festival of Siena
The Festival, launched in Siena in 1996 and directed by Piero Clemente, is held
during the month of November. The event is a reference point in the short-film
panorama in Italy; each year it brings a selection of the best European and
15
international works to Siena and organizes sections dedicated to the cinema of
individual nations and to animation.
Visionaria
Visionaria – International Video Festival – has been held since 1991, in the
month of November, with the idea of bringing together images created by
independent and professional video makers through a video competition,
special programs and exhibitions.
Edgar Walpor’s Voyage (Culture Project 2000)
European Commission - Culture Program 2000, year 2003.
This project effectuated an exchange between European Universities and young
theater companies to compare and contrast practices of stage language geared
towards the analysis of reality. The object of investigation was the theme of
liminality, dealt with through the experimental work of some significant figures
from three Countries: Ignacy Witkiewicz (Poland), Jean Genet (France), Pier
Paolo Pasolini (Italy).
Siena in Scena (Siena on Stage)
Initiated in 2005 and organized by the Municipality of Siena and Monte dei
Paschi Bank, this is a multi-sector event that brings together under a single
emblem all of the city’s dance, theater and music companies.
MusicaSiena
A series of seven classical music concerts (chamber music in particular) now in
its fourth edition, organized by the Quattro Quarti Association with the
Municipality of Siena.
Sulla Terrazza (On the Terrace)
A series of music and poetry performances presented at Palazzo Piccolomini,
which has been held for several years now, with a program of shows and
concerts in July and August.
Parole e Musica (Words and Music)
Cultural program (music, theater, cinema and shows in general) created and
organized since 1998 by the University of Siena for its students and employees.
6.
Promotion and Communication Strategies for the Cultural
Sector
6.1.
Media used by residents
(this section will include a description of the media used as well as points of
distribution and points of collaboration)
In spite of the city’s relatively small size, Siena counts on three local editions of
daily newspapers, two of which are Sienese dailies, and one an edition of the
national daily La Nazione, which publishes a local insert every day. The three
dailies dedicate ample space to cultural information and to city and provincial
events in general. Due to their publication numbers, they can be considered the
main nodes of communication and promotion for the cultural, social and
education sector.
16
Il Corriere di Siena (Newspaper)
The city’s main organ of information (local-only and with an average printing of
4,000 copies), the paper has 40 pages of which only 8-10 are dedicated to
national news. The others cover regional, provincial and city news (at least 7-8
pages are dedicated to the latter in each edition). Some sections, such as the
“Blocknotes” page and the service page, are dedicated to local events. The daily
publishes many short features and items on events in town, press releases and
articles sent by associations, institutions and contradas.
Il Cittadino Oggi (Newspaper)
A local daily, with a local office as well as a regional one in Florence, the paper
dedicates many pages to the Sienese political and cultural situation. On average
it presents 2 pages on local cultural events and one page every day dedicated to
the calendars of the Contradas and to useful information about the city.
Numerous articles about touristic and cultural events and activities are also
found on the pages dedicated to Siena news.
La Nazione local edition
The Sienese insert of la Nazione has about 20 pages, with one page dedicated to
the “Siena Calendar” and many pages dedicated to sports. Culture and
entertainment are included in the news pages, inserted as general news.
Also available in town: 7 giorni a Siena, a free weekly distributed on
Wednesdays at newsstands and by paperboys, launched in the wake of
analogous editorial operations inaugurated throughout Italy, and supported by
abundant local advertising; La Voce del Campo, an historic cultural news
fortnightly distributed by subscription and at newsstands.
There are also numerous thematic publications on traditions and enogastronomic products, such as, for example, the magazine “I Grandi Vini”
(Great Wines).
Siena has a local television channel, Canale 3 Toscana, which deals mainly with
local subjects, with news, cultural programs, talk shows and documentaries on
history and the city’s artistic heritage. A great deal of time is dedicated to the
Palio and Contrada activities.
There are also two private radio stations that offer a great deal of local news and
information. The first, Radio Siena, has a more commercial and youthful bent,
similar to national commercial broadcasters, with many musical and pure
entertainment programs. The second, Antenna Radio Esse, was launched in
1976 during the period of the “free radio” boom. Its numerous local newscasts
make it the broadcaster of reference for those who wish to keep informed about
what is happening in the province of Siena.
Two particular cases from the communication sector in Siena: Canale Civico
(Civic Channel) and Radio di Ateneo (University Radio).
Canale Civico
Siena’s Civic Channel, the Municipality’s thematic cable TV channel, was
launched in 2001 as an experimental project within the sphere of the fiber-optic
cabling of a vast area of the city. CCS is thus configured as an attempt to take
17
advantage of new technologies of cable, offering citizens an integrated access to
services and information. With regard to its actual programming, the news is
broadcast from 20:00 to 21:00, repeated four times in the course of that hour.
Afterwards, approximately 12 different formats of features, concert and event
broadcasts and transmissions of the City Council are shown, along with teletext
updated in real time.
Experimentation with the first value-added services has also begun, with the
goal of transforming the television into an interactive terminal to which an
interactive set-top box can be connected to distribute services and information
to citizens with the simple use of a remote control.
Radio facoltà di Frequenza (University Radio)
In 1998 the University of Siena initiated a university radio project: after an
experimental phase, Facoltà di frequenza (Fdf) was launched in September
2000, the first university radio station in Italy, broadcasting over the airwaves
at 99.450 Mhz and on-line by connection to the site www.facoltadifrequenza.it.
The college radio station is geared mainly towards the university community,
which is not only its natural target audience but also the active subject of its
conception: Facoltà di frequenza serves as a laboratory for students interested
in working in mass media. In connection to the radio experience, the University
of Siena has created a specialized degree program in Radio broadcasting and a
summer school program, “Radio Summer School”.
Siena also has multiple instruments of information realized by individual
institutions and associations, such as newsletters (all public institutions and the
largest associations have them) and thematic and service-oriented portals. The
portal of the Municipality has links to all structures and events organized by the
city and the Province, the portal of the Sienese Museums Foundation, that of
ReDos, the Sienese Document Network, which links libraries and archives, and
that of the tourism promotion structure Terre di Siena. Special mention should
also be made of the informational structure of the University of Siena, which
boasts various targeted newsletters and a portal with downloadable publications
(as well as the Radio channel) united under the title of Unisi Informa.
Siena can thus count on a strong local information system distributed over
various media, although, as in the cultural sector in general, there is no
coordination of these media, at least not formally, and no agreed-upon
development program.
6.2
The media used by tourists
(this section will include a description of the media used as well as points of
distribution and points of collaboration.)
Tourists can count on a broad offering of media. In recent years the APT
(tourism association) of Siena has made the following available:
• color brochures on various geographic areas of the Province (Siena, Chianti,
Val d’Elsa, Crete Senesi, Val di Merse, Val d’Orcia, Val di Chiana, Amiata)
and thematic brochures (Agriculture, Children on vacation, Terri di Siena by
bicycle, Cathedral Works, Spas and Waters, A short walk in terre di Siena),
all in Italian, English, French and German;
18
•
•
maps and trail guides for the Province;
a dynamic internet site, www.terredisiena.it, where one can obtain
information on tour packages, lodging, events, itineraries, local products and
innovative services like dynamic virtual navigation of the territory, and the
possibility of downloading routes for GPS devices.
In recent years, the Municipality of Siena has also, within the scope of the
project “Qualification of Sienese tourism offerings as a sustainable supply,”
made various products available to tourists:
books with various themes on local traditions (Siena Recipe Book; Art and
craft; Places of Taste in Siena);
multi-language pamphlets and brochures on urban treks and itineraries in
Siena;
pamphlets for the physically disabled and the deaf;
a booklet entitled Siena Events, with a calendar of events;
a mini cd-rom, Sienanteprima, which includes more than 400 events
including exhibitions, concerts, festivals, etc.;
the site www.comunedisiena.it, with a page dedicated entirely to tourists.
6.3
Branding
(this section will include the use of labels and logos, and also listings such as on the
UNESCO World Heritage Sites list, as well as the awareness and/or image of the
cultural element)
Branding activity is above all tied to tourism activity, to the territory and to
typical handicrafts and eno-gastronomic products.
“Terre di Siena” Trademark
A first step towards the creation of labels and trademarks in the territory was
the development of the Terre di Siena trademark, common to all areas of the
Province of Siena and in many cases an identifier of a high-quality product,
which in recent years has contributed greatly to the creation and recognizability
of the system. Also tied to the Terre di Siena network is a series of typical local
products and their relative marks of quality, distinguished by type, as well as
regional eno-gastronomic labels like the DOP (Denomination of origin
protected) (3 products and 3 in the process of approval); IGP (Geographic
identification protected); DOCG (Denomination of origin controlled and
guaranteed) (5 wines); DOC (Denomination of origin controlled) (10 wines);
IGT; DECO.
Agriqualità Products
This is the trademark of the Region of Tuscany which certifies and promotes
agro-alimentary products realized using integrated agriculture techniques and
the safest conservation and packaging practices.
Vetrina Toscana a Tavola (Window on Tuscany at the Table)
A trademark promoted by the Region of Tuscany which identifies a network of
restaurateurs who promote Tuscan food products and handicrafts.
19
Great attention to lending value by means of labels, branding and integrated
promotion of products is also demonstrated by the presence in Sienese territory
of numerous safeguarding Consortia and institutions that promote local
products, like the Enoteca Italiana, the Fondazione Qualivita and PromoSiena.
Fondazione Musei Senesi (Sienese Museums Foundation)
Siena is among the most visited art cities, and also offers an array of small
museums, churches and monuments throughout the province. The Sienese
Museums Foundation was established in 2003 by the Provincial Administration
of Siena, with the institutional participation of the Municipality of Siena, the
Province, the Archbishopric Curia of Siena - Colle di Val d’Elsa - Montalcino, the
Bishopric Curia of Montepulciano - Chiusi - Pienza, the University of Siena, the
Monte dei Paschi of Siena Foundation and Monte dei Paschi Bank of Siena, and
involves 33 museums in the province linked by an information network, with
the aim of guaranteeing the standard of quality of cultural offerings.
Unlike in the sectors described above, in other cultural spheres such as theater,
dance, music and audio-visual arts, Sienese territory lacks systems of branding
and integrated local networks and, as described in the previous paragraphs,
public or private cultural institutions and agencies concerned with these other
activities participate individually in regional, national or international networks.
Citizens’ awareness of the cultural system is thus – coherently with what we
have just described – strong and structured with regard to local traditions, the
territory, the value of the landscape and traditional cultural heritage, but much
more discontinuous with regard to the sectors of entertainment, contemporary
art and audio-visual arts.
6.4
Development of new markets
(this section will include communication with different groups as well as branding, but
also considers accessibility and education initiatives)
For the Terre di Siena, tourism is a fundamental source of cultural and
economic development, and yet it constitutes an element of possible
compromise of the territory’s environmental equilibrium and threat to the
safeguarding of its heritage, both in terms of its monumental-artistic treasures
and the complex whole of historically consolidated human activities. During
local forums organized in various areas of the Province of Siena - which are here
comprised in and referred to as the Terre di Siena – to evaluate and measure
the effects and prospects of tourism, the primary need was asserted to be the
definition of “sustainable” tourism policies and actions.
The Tourism Promotion Agencies of Siena and the Province of Siena, with the
intention of promoting a process of re-qualification of touristic offerings starting
from a basis of sustainable tourism, have activated a new promotional
instrument: the contract between residents and tourists, a commitment on the
part of residents, tourism industry operators and tourists with regard to
sustainability. The tourist is offered the opportunity to become a citizen of the
terre di Siena and establish a bond of belonging to the Sienese community that
goes beyond a mere distracted holiday. The contract was submitted in a virtual
forum through which all the subjects involved – residents and guests – had the
20
chance to make suggestions and propose changes, as well as join the project,
utilizing a postcard (available on the site www.terresiena.it or attached to a
brochure distributed in hospitality structures and tourist information offices). A
card will also be made available to tourists (for the moment in trial use in
Chianciano Terme) which will allow access to services created for citizens of the
Terre di Siena. The total project is the result of discussions with public and
private tourism industry operators; it is not a promotional ploy, but a formal
commitment to ensure tourists equal dignity with residents, while also binding
them to respect the same responsibilities as residents.
Terre di Siena Tourism Promotion Agency: on the road to the East
The Tourism Promotion Agency of Siena is developing new projects to gain
ground in the Japanese market, and proposes to construct an ad hoc offering in
the form of specific tour packages, in which the high quality of the offering and
thematic itineraries characterize the most exclusive invitation to the Terre di
Siena for the Japanese tourist. The project also foresees a web site entirely in
Japanese – which will be part of the new Terre di Siena tourism portal and will
host the offerings of Japanese tour operators – along with printed publicity
materials in Japanese and visits to Siena by Japanese tour operators.
6.5
Communication strategy with cultural industries
(this section will describe local methodologies to communicate culture and to promote
cultural industries but also how information on projects, funding, training, etc. is
disseminated)
Promotion of Sienese cultural offerings outside the zone
Information through the press and PR actions
To correctly promote the city, the Municipality of Siena has focused on
informational initiatives through the press and PR actions.
In recent years, itineraries have been conceived on the basis of the concept of
“experiential tourism,” with the goal of highlighting Siena in all its aspects and
providing journalists with outlines for their articles. This technique has proved
to be efficacious and has led to the publication of articles that present Siena in a
more complete way than in the past.
The realization of Informational initiatives began in 2002 and is maintained
through continuing and persistent activities, with representatives of the most
important cultural, tourism and food sector mass media outlets and programs,
with correspondents from Italian and international tour operators and with
international delegations of professionals from the culture and tourism sectors.
To cite a few of the contacts maintained over recent years: Gente Viaggi, Sereno
Variabile, Città d’Italia, Histoire Medievale, TG 2, La 7, Rai Uno, Die welt, La
Repubblica, Association Promotion Presse Magazine, Corriere della Sera, Il Sole
24-ore, Touring Club, ACI, Finnish Craft Organization, F.A.O., Miyagi Institute,
Sereno Variabile, Gourmet et Departures.
21
Participation in fairs
Every year the Tourism Council of the Province of Siena participates in
international Tourism Exchanges, the BIT in Milan and the ITB in Berlin (in
collaboration with the International Relations Office).
Promotion of training activities and financing benefiting Sienese culturalsector businesses
At the local level, the promotion of projects and funding available for culture is
carried out mainly through the internet sites of the Municipality of Siena
(www.comune.siena.it), the Province of Siena (www.provincia.siena.it) and the
Fondazione Monte dei Paschi (www.fondazionemps.it). Another reference point
for the area of the municipality of Siena is the portal of the Region of Tuscany,
which lists announcements and initiatives that concern various areas but are
managed directly by the regional organism (www.rete.toscana.it).
Most of the training activities in the cultural sector in Siena are run by the two
Universities (www.unisi.it e www.unistrasi.it) and by the Province of Siena,
which has utilized for the most part the resources of the European Social Fund
to support training activities, particularly in the handicraft, tourism and
technologies sectors (www.impiego.provincia.siena.it).
The system of promotion of local cultural-sector business initiatives in Siena
lacks a true information coordination point orchestrated and shared by local
institutions with the Region and with the major sources of private funding
(Monte dei Paschi Bank of Siena, Fondazione Monte dei Paschi di Siena).
7.
7.1
Policy Instruments
The available infrastructure and coordination
(this section will describe institutes, departments, etc. how they normally function in
the territory and what their policies are, but also how the sector itself is coordinated)
The Provincial Administration of Siena
The Province is an active protagonist in the construction of instruments geared
towards uniting territories and diverse social components. The main theme of
recent years, which has characterized most of the programming actions, is that
of sustainable development in social, as well as economic, terms.
This underpinning is found in the Strategic Development Plan, a guide for
sustainable development of Sienese territory, which seeks to represent values
and methods that guarantee the future for citizens. Blending with this strategy
are aspects of an economic nature (maximum employment, business
competitiveness) and of a social nature (equal opportunity access to learning,
active citizenship, self-realization, social inclusiveness).
The Territorial Coordination Plan has been a vital tool, pushing towards
territorial policies to promote integration, equilibrium and general
sustainability. The plan was also made possible by the adoption of a method of
participatory government that allowed for a broader representation of social
groups (including, for example, the Councils and Districts) in the decision
phase. This territorial system logic thus indicates the Province as a structure of
direction and planning.
22
Work already begun in recent years is aimed at further developing activities for
promotion of the territory outside the zone, and for improving the cultural
offerings within it.
7.2
Programs and policy lines
(this section will contain in particular a definition of what is available for
interventions in strategic planning of the promotion of cultural industries)
Strategies for the cultural industry of the Province of Siena (Local Ecomonic
System)
As underlined by the OCSE study “Territorial Report of the Province of Siena”,
there is still an enormous, unexploited potential with regard to the full
utilization of Siena’s cultural resources. The territory continues to benefit from
improperly-managed cultural tourism, which can be considered a variation of
mass tourism. For the coming years, the Provincial Administration proposes
actions geared towards a precise strategy of development of sustainable cultural
tourism.
In the Strategic Development Plan (2003), the Provincial Administration of
Siena gives particular attention to themes of the environment, culture and
tourism, proposing action aimed at the integration of these three still-toodisconnected sectors, beginning with a re-reading of the potential for
enhancement and promotion of cultural heritage, environmental assets, and
quality production of goods and services.
Given the shortage of specialized operators in the cultural sphere, the Provincial
Administration has incentivized and promoted training courses for qualification
in three sectors: conservation of the cultural-environmental heritage;
qualification and development of tourism; and service businesses linked to
culture. The challenge for the future, however, will be to create real access to
employment for trained personnel.
Beginning with the 2003 Strategic Development Plan the Province has proposed
to increase coordination among policies in the cultural sphere, productive
activities, scientific research and artistic activities, in the belief that a strong
cultural tradition and the presence of the University could constitute the basis
for the development of a “group of cultural operators” and connected productive
activities.
These lines of action require broader cooperation between local private and
public players, towards the end of forming a basic contractual capacity for the
“Siena System” with regard to international tour operators.
Strategies for the cultural industry in Siena
A survey by the Touring Club Italiano6 shows that in the period 1999-2002,
attendance at Siena’s museums passed from 430,000 to 370,000 visitors, and
that only one Sienese exhibition was present on the list of those most-visited on
a national level. With an eye towards recuperating the touristic gap originating
6
Annual survey on confluence of visitors in Italian museums – Summer 2003 edition by the
TCI
23
beginning in 1999, the Municipality of Siena, the Tourism Promotion
Association, the Fondazione Monte dei Paschi and the Santa Maria della Scala
museum complex have undertaken a cultural policy aimed at the realization and
promotion of large expositions and cultural events.
Following are the initiatives promoted on this basis beginning in 20047
Exposition site
Palazzo Squarcialupi
event
«Duccio di Buoninsegna. At the origins of
Sienese painting», Palazzo Squarcialupi, 4
October 2003 - 14 March 2004
Invitation to the Palazzo, 22 January – 15 June
2005
Hugo Pratt. Imaginary circumnavigation, 24
March – 18 October 2005
Siena & Rome, 25 November 2005 -17 April 2007
Palazzo Chigi Saracini
7.3
visitors
250,000
45,000
40,000
60,000
Cooperation activities
(this section will describe the points of collaboration with economic and cultural
agencies, programs, and departments, including interdepartmental activities, but also
external relations established with the cultural sector, as well as connections between
the cultural sector and the business and industrial sector)
Cooperation activities in the cultural sector in Siena are supported and carried
forward mainly by public cultural agencies and institutions. There is substantial
localism on the part of most private and association-based cultural agencies,
which rarely operate in contexts of stable extra-provincial networks.
Collaborations that develop with Italian and international organs and
institutions generally begin with direct contact by the individual agency or the
private cultural agency, with the support of a public organ, and are rarely
inserted into projects shared by Sienese cultural agents for cooperation and
promotion of the entire cultural area.
To cite a few examples: the participation of the theater company La Lut in
Progetto Cultura 2000; the internationally-known territorial project “Arte
all’Arte”; the partnerships of the International Short Film Festival and the Terra
di Siena Film Festival with institutions operating in the national and
international cinema sector; the linking of musical associations and foundation
with networks of subjects and schools on the international level (as in the case
of Siena Jazz and the Accademia Chigiana); the membership of some
associations in national federations (in the case of the Arci).
At the institutional level, beyond the already mentioned links of public subjects
to networks and projects, we find further steps forward in this respect. For
example, in recent years the Province of Siena has strengthened the
international network of collaborative relationships within the Mediterranean
7
Other actions effectuated by the municipal administration are described at point 8.7
“The local development plans”.
24
area, by joining the “Arco Latino”8 network and participating in the “Med
cooperation”9 project.
However, there is still a need for a more stable plan that is shared by the
cultural agencies operating in Siena with regard to collaborative relationships
with extra-provincial cultural contexts, and there is also a need for an
authoritative public institution that can serve as a guide and local coordinator in
this process.
7.4.
Investments
(this section will describe how cultural initiatives are able to begin, be maintained and
expand through investment, coming either from the public administration or through
loans, own income, other means, etc.)
Investments in the cultural sector in Siena come mainly from the following
sources:
- Fondazione Monte dei Paschi di Siena;
- Monte dei Paschi Bank of Siena;
- the Region of Tuscany;
- the Province of Siena;
- Ministry for cultural heritage and activities;
- EC programs (especially FSE for training);
- the Municipality of Siena;
- other private, mainly local, sponsors.
Fondazione Monte dei Paschi di Siena
Topping the list of supporters of culture in Siena is surely the Fondazione Monte
dei Paschi di Siena, established to pursue socially useful ends along with the
territory and institutions of reference, and to financially support projects of its
own initiative or those proposed by third parties. To give an idea of the extent of
financing distributed (not only to culture), one must consider that the
Foundation assigned resources of about 140 million euros during the 2004
fiscal year, about 150 million in 2005, and has arrived at the record sum of
available resources for 2006 of 169 million euros, for more than 3,000 requests
for financing of third-party projects. The average growth of the Province of
Siena’s gross domestic product is one-third sustained by the annual bestowals of
the Fondazione Monte dei Paschi di Siena. Among its stakeholders, the major
beneficiaries are the Municipality and Province of Siena, followed by the
University of Siena.
The Fondazione Monte dei Paschi di Siena designates a considerable portion of
its available resources for institutional purposes to projects in the field of art
and enhancement and promotion of cultural heritage and activities (30 million
euros in 2005). Most of the interventions involve projects for the recuperation,
8
Arco Latino is a space of cooperation between territorial communities of countries in southern Europe and north
Africa in which integrated actions are carried out in various strategic spheres for the economic and social cohesion of the
territories involved. www.arcolatino.org
9
"Med Cooperation" is a decentralized cooperative project between local institutions and NGOs in Palestaine, Israel and
Italy. The goal is to contribute to the Mid-East peace process through dialogue between local institutions and civil
society organizations.
25
conservation and enhancement and promotion of artistic and monumental
heritage. However, significant attention is also paid to cultural initiatives in the
stricter sense, such as the organization of exhibitions and support for the
activities of some important museum and exhibition structures.
Monte dei Paschi Bank of Siena
Aside from the Foundation, Monte dei Paschi Bank of Siena itself is one
of the major supporters of the city’s activities, through contributions
in the form of sponsorship. Among the most important sponsorships are
those benefiting the Chigiana Musical Academy and Santa Maria della Scala. A
standout among programs in 2005 was the event "Invitation to Palazzo Chigi
Saracini – Secrets and splendor of the Collection” (Siena, from 22 January to 15
June 2005). The bank is also the main sponsor of numerous entertainment
events in town, such as, for example, the Città Aromatica concert series and the
Terra di Siena Film Festival. With regard to the world of sports, in addition to
various initiatives in favor of amateur and youth sports, the Banca MPS logo’s
association with the AC Siena football and Mens Sana Siena Basketball (Italian
champions in 2003-2004) teams is to be highlighted. The Bank’s conference
activities should also be noted (for example, “Banks, Business and Territory in
2004), as well as its editorial activity (for example, with books dedicated to the
Tuscan landscape and to cultural heritage).
In part, funds provided by local administrations are then further divided among
private stakeholders, for activities planned by them and supported, sponsored
or co-produced by institutions.
The Region of Tuscany
Another important source of financing in the provincial cultural sector is the
Region of Tuscany, through Docup 2000 – 2006, the Unified community
structural intervention planning document, objective 2 (which draws on the
European Fund for Regional Development). In particular, the axis II strategy
identifies the goal of augmenting and qualifying the infrastructural resources of
the territory in question, relating to the tourism sector, cultural heritage,
business, social services and employment, with two measures of intervention:
- Action 2.2.1 “Infrastructures for cultural activities” (48.5 million euros);
- Action 2.2.2 “Private infrastructures for cultural activities” (8 million euros).
Ministerial funds and European structural funds
For the training sector, aside from ministerial funds, community requests for
proposals (managed by the Region and/or the Province) have been the main
source of financing, with the assignment of contributions from the European
Social Fund.
Direct-access community funds (for example, Cultura 2000, Programma Media
etc.) are a source of financing that is little–exploited by the Sienese cultural
sector, and the private sponsorship system is also of little significance. Most
technical or financial sponsorship comes from medium-to-small local
companies, and involves amounts that are minimal with respect to total project
costs. In fact, in cultural projects realized in the territory, there is scant presence
26
of major national or international sponsors, besides the already-mentioned
Monte dei Paschi Bank.
7.5
Professionalisation
(this section will include access to information and training, especially business skills
such as business planning and marketing)
One of the characteristics that distinguish Siena is the presence of outstanding
educational structures, especially at the superior level, which is quite rare in a
city of this size. The city’s educational offerings are spread over different levels
and axes.
In the Municipality of Siena alone there is a concentration of 14 secondary
educational institutes, and there is a high rate of education. The rate of middlesuperior school registration in the Province of Siena (registered students in
proportion to the population belonging to the pertinent age group) is estimated
at 97%.
Siena can also boast two Universities. The smaller is the University for
Foreigners, unique in Italy along with the analogous structure in Perugia, which
offers courses in Italian language and culture and, in recent years, cultural
mediation. It is also attended by many Italian students.
The larger structure is the University of Siena, which a survey by La Repubblica
newspaper10 found to be among the best Italian universities. The educational
offering is broad and structured at all levels. There are strong thematic poles,
both in training and research, in medical, technical-scientific, classical
humanistic and economic disciplines. On the other hand, the post-graduate
offerings are greatly inferior to the basic ones (bachelor’s degree and specialized
bachelor’s degree).
Training is programmed and regulated by the Province, with courses activated
by many private training agencies and financed almost entirely with the
resources of the European Social Fund. Course offerings are broad, and each
year the Province requests proposals for the assignment of individual vouchers
that incentivize professional training activities.
Siena’s basic, non-formal training system is also strong, organized mainly by
associations in the cultural, computer and linguistic sectors.
On the other hand, superior training in artistic fields is lacking, with the
exception of Arsnova academy for digital arts, and the Chigiana Academy, Siena
Jazz, Franci Institute and Diapason Center in the sphere of music.
7.6
An evaluation of the existing policies and tools
(this section will compare local strategies with cultural sector development, and local
policies with the level of creativity)
10
“La Grande guida all'Università di Repubblica” Census Survey 2006
27
Frame of reference for local programming policies
The evolution and growth of programming tools in the last 10 years has changed
the way territories are governed and sustained, as well as their local systems
(social and economic).
The Territorial Coordination Plan of the Province of Siena, drafted in
cooperation among all institutional levels, has brought together and coherently
organized a group of objectives and planning nodes capable of representing all
expressions of the territorial organization. Again through the utilization of
cooperative methodologies, 2003 saw the approval of the Strategic
Development Plan, conceived with the goal of providing institutions with a basic
document for concrete actions and interventions and the individuation of
actionable sources of financing.
The Strategic Development Plan provides the frame for a series of actions
relating to:
- the definition of updated guidelines for the Territorial Coordination Plan of
the Province of Siena;
- the integration of development policies set in place by the Province;
- the evaluation of local development programs;
- the setting of priorities for interventions by the Province;
- the preparation of the Province’s sector programs;
- the integration of the territory’s endogenous and exogenous resources;
- the organization of the cooperative Province/local institution systems
decision-making process.
In the Strategic Development Plan we note the need for the Province to raise the
level of quality in its coordination functions. The Plan gives much attention to
the governing tools that administrations must implement to revamp the
decision-making process. The most relevant of these are institutional-social
pacts and the establishment of a strategic planning office, the SiRes.
Local development Pact (PASL)
The Province of Siena has demonstrated that it can effectively realize what is
laid out in the Strategic Development Plan, with the February 2004 signing of
an agreement protocol with The Region of Tuscany, which outlined lines of
strategy for experimentation: the Local Development Pact.
In particular, this document individuated the consolidation of a course of
sustainable development as the general objective of every action, at the same
time identifying a few central programs, directly connected to those of the
Strategic Development Plan: education and training, competitiveness of the
economic system, environment, culture and tourism, rural/agricultural districts,
and two transversal issues, the converging policies of the Development and the
Territorial Plan and the development of new computer technologies.
28
Direction system for Local Development in the Province of Siena (SiReS)
The Districts have been individuated as the most suitable “places” for debate
and discussion. Thus was born the Direction System for Local Development of
the Province of Siena, abbreviated with the acronym SiReS, and divided into: a
General Pact Group with general functions of representing the interests of the
Sienese system and cooperating on activities and initiatives to be undertaken
between the parties and the Districts; six District Groups and a group that
coincides with the Capital Municipality, each of which has jurisdiction in its own
territorial sphere; and a Coordination and Technical Support Nucleus which
operates within the Provincial Administration to assist the Groups and their
Presidents.
Cultural sector strategies
In this frame of reference, it should be noted that public decision makers have
only recently demonstrated an awareness of the possibility of making the
Sienese cultural sector a factor of economic growth and an instrument of
employment stabilization, even making the sector itself autonomous from the
tourism sector. Thus the necessity has begun to be felt for a coordination that
would mediate between the widespread spontaneity which the territory is rich in
and the need for professionalism and improvement of organizational capacity.
There has been a glimpse of the possibility of a Sienese Cultural District that
would be able to strengthen and expand the network among economic subjects,
promoters and producers of culture. In fact, collaboration among various
subjects which operate with shared goals and clear roles, with each bringing its
own resources (material or intangible) is viewed as strategic. The first and most
significant experience in this sense, still in the planning phase, is the Sienese
Museums Foundation, which may become a prototypal cultural policy tool for
the public administrations.
8.
A first evaluation of the characterization of local planning
strategies
8.1
General introductory considerations
(this section provides initial evaluations comparing supply and demand of the above
descriptive data in order to see, for example, if the demands of residents and tourists
correspond to the available tourism, heritage and cultural sector supply, if local
supply is adequate to fulfill demand, etc.)
Sienese territory has the capacity to attract migratory flows at the cultural,
economic and differentiated professional levels, in connection with the area’s
vocation. Since a territory’s competitiveness depends upon its capacity to
combine exclusively local know-how with codified external knowledge, the
migratory flow that passes through Sienese territory is a strategic factor that
allows the city to open itself up to the outside.
The high potential for the development of the Sienese area’s artistic, cultural
and environmental assets indicates a possible greater integration that is more
organic than a conception of culture as the engine of local economy, with culture
29
seen instead as an indicator of the quality of the urban form. In fact, there is a
causal relationship between economic development and art: the city’s artistic
capital develops its economic growth (generally linked to processes of
internationalization), while the growing artistic reputation favors further
development of the city’s economic potential.
Migratory flows of an economic and professional nature, generated by the
transfer and rotation of managers and qualified personnel within the area’s
major companies (ex. Monte dei Paschi Bank, Chiron/Novartis), also contribute
to improving the quality of life in Sienese territory. Their contribution tends to
raise the level of productive activities and services, and thus to improve the
services offered by the city to its citizens and clients.
The migratory flows described are the result of the development of functions
that the Municipal Administration and other Institutions which contribute to
local governance consider strategic. In this context, the Municipal
Administration of Siena is seeking to promote the city as a location for
international congresses and conferences, orienting and qualifying the
territorial resources involved in the convention supply chain, thanks also to the
creation of a coordination organism for this sector of activity.
8.2
Population as a potential section of cultural demand
(this section, on the basis of the previous data and looking at demand factors, will
include an evaluation of how residents’ characteristics can affect the preferences and
potential demand of the resident population. Here we include residents’ visits to local
heritage sites, and it will be possible to include eventual additional information on
social, behavioral, and motivational segmentation obtained through local surveys)
The main factors that favorably impact the demand for culture in the territory in
question are:
- a high rate of education of the population, which reaches considerable levels if
we include the non-resident population present in the territory;
- a per-capita average income above the regional and national averages,
characterized by a very small statistical deviation, index of a diffusion of
affluence to broad swathes of the population;
- a high level of quality of life, which orients consumption characteristics
towards culture and free time;
- the presence in the territory of a large number of trained workers and
professionals linked to the high number of educational and cultural institutions;
- the strong presence of young people studying (university students from every
part of Italy and Europe, foreign students learning the Italian language,
researchers,…).
8.3
Tourists as a potential section of cultural demand
(this section, on the basis of the previous data and looking at demand factors, will
include an evaluation of how tourists’ characteristics can affect the preferences and
potential demand of tourists. Here we include tourists’ visits to local heritage sites, and
it will be possible to include eventual additional information on social, behavioural
and motivational segmentation obtained by local surveys)
30
There are no existing data that allow us to determine potential cultural demand
on the basis of tourists’ country of origin or specific socio-economic
characteristics.
The following table shows the nationality of tourists registered in the Province
of Siena in hospitality structures in 2004 and the relationship of presences in
the city between Italian and foreign tourists in the same year:
Presences of foreign tourists by nationality, year 2004 (Source: Tourism
observatory…)
Nation
Germany
U.S.A.
U.K.
Low Countries
France
Switzerland and Liechtenstein
Belgium
Austria
Canada
Australia
Sweden
Denmark
Spain
Israel
Norway
Ireland
Japan
Poland
Brazil
New Zealand
China
number
346,858
320,954
194,999
136,296
133,223
82,666
70,946
70,654
46,511
38,290
27,606
26,027
25,838
20,635
19,563
17,625
16,429
12,639
8,891
8,537
7,057
Relationship of presences in the city between Italian and foreign tourists in 2004
(Source: Tourism observatory…)
Italian tourists
351,451
8.4
Foreign tourists
439,362
% Italian tourists
44.4
% Foreign tourists
55.6
Market orientation of the cultural industries
(this section will contain an evaluation of the above described sector according to the
Colbert matrix, distinguishing between product-oriented enterprises, product-centred
enterprises, market-oriented enterprises, market-centred enterprises)
In general, with regard to the Colbert categories, the Sienese cultural sector
presents itself as strongly product-focused. This consideration appears to be in
line with a panorama of cultural agencies like those described above, which
pertain partly to the public sector and partly to associations or cooperatives.
Proceeds from the sector’s activities are directed mainly towards the
maintenance of the structures and activities themselves, or to reinvestment in
new creations.
As mentioned above, in recent years we have seen an attempt by a few public
agencies (for ex., Santa Maria della Scala) to produce events of a certain cultural
and economic importance, which have effectively had a high number of paying
31
visitors. But the lack of market orientation on the part of Sienese cultural
agencies is still the rule, since most entertainment events and exhibitions are
free and price of tickets for those that are not is low on average, in comparison
to large Italian cities. Thus, in Siena we see a cultural sector structure in which
most of the cultural events and products conceived and realized are effectively
“distributed”, that is, proposed to the public, but few of them have a significant
economic value.
An example of the low commercial profile is that of the city’s seven cinemas,
including two art-house cinemas belonging to the FICE circuit, which have only
small spaces (200-400 seats max.). The small size of the cinemas keeps the city
from being included in promotional campaigns for films proposed at the
national level.
8.5
An evaluation of the available infrastructures
(this section will measure the correspondence between creation, production,
presentation, distribution, and maintenance. This can be done for various sub-sectors
within the cultural sectors i.e. visual arts, theatre, music, dance, design, architecture,
etc.)
Siena can count on good infrastructures in the cultural sphere, which, however,
are not fully exploited due to the lack of super-institutional coordination of
institutions and associations which possess and/or manage the structures
themselves.
The city has seven cinemas, three (small) theaters, numerous auditoriums and
mixed conference structures (of the university, the Municipality, Santa Maria
della Scala, associations and private organizations), a sports arena, a stadium
and two open spaces located in the city center and often used for summer
events, Piazza del Campo and the Medici Fortress.
The Municipality of Siena has for years sought to resolve the problem of the lack
of quarters for cultural associations by restructuring and assigning public
spaces, such as, for example, the Lia Lapini Hall, inaugurated last year and
assigned to several Sienese associations by public request for proposals.
However, these efforts have not yet garnered the results hoped for by those in
the sector.
In recent years, we have also seen the reassessment of a few smaller areas as
stages for outdoor entertainment and events, for example, the spaces around the
Pescaia Fountain and the Tolomei Gardens, used for open-air cinema during the
summer, and the Orto de’Pecci green space, where cultural and gastronomic
events are organized.
The fundamental problem of the utilization of the city’s spaces is the
coordination and planning of activities, as well as the lack of a precise and
organized map of available structures.
8.6
Economic impact of culture on local territory
(this section will measure the revenue and employment figures generated by the
cultural sector, creative industries, and cultural tourism. It will also give a general
evaluation of the impact of culture in developing the local economy)
32
The current weakness of the national statistical apparatus with regard to the
definition of methodologies for revealing the characteristics of supply and
demand and measuring effects in the cultural sector has led to a paucity of
indicators, tools and survey practices, and this makes it difficult to perform
multi-factor analyses on the impact of cultural policies on local economic
development.
Activities in the cultural sector are still classified as within residual categories
(“other” activities, rather than the ATECO O92 class of “cultural, recreational
and sports” activities); many professional occupations with strong cultural
content are included in other categories of economic activity, and people who
work in cultural tourism are included in the general tourism sector. In the Siena
Economic Report 200611 for example, cultural activities fall under sector O,
“Other public, social and personal services,” and data collected are available
only for macrosectors. Only the number of workers is available for the subsector O92, “Recreational, cultural and sports activities,” which, as of 31-122003, counted in the entire provincial territory 225 businesses, with 679
workers, of which only 328 permanent employees. This datum, although
generic, tends to support the thesis that the cultural sector is based on a corpus
of mainly free-lance and part-time workers.
In any case, statistical data gathered on business registers cannot take into
account the income and number of workers involved in the activities of “agents”
comprised mainly within the public sector and cooperatives-associations, for
whom a survey aimed directly at the sources would have to be conducted. Thus
we can assert the need for new survey and analysis tools that are specific for the
local cultural sector, which can take into account a panorama of such diverse
actors.
8.7
Local development plans
(this section will describe the principle development plans with regards to general
strategy, tourism, local heritage, cultural traditions, cultural activities, cultural
industries)
In the five-year period 2001-2005 the network of tourism offerings was
organized as a single “system” and for the first time in the Municipality of Siena
a Tourism Council was established, which carried forth a series of initiatives to
counter the general crisis in the sector and promote sustainable tourism.
The Municipal Administration has laid out a five-phase plan for the next few
years, aimed at constructing a specifically Sienese tourism offering that respects
the city and its treasures.
11
Rapporto Economico Siena (Siena Economic Report) 2006 – Chamber of Commerce of
Siena, for the year 2005: gathers and analyses available data for the Province and the
Municipalities within it.
33
1. Towards a tourism that respects the environment
All phases of the environmental sustainability plan – the survey on hospitality
structure utilities consumption and action to sensitize operators in the sector –
have been realized. The survey of utilities consumption in hospitality structures
was effectuated in collaboration with ENEA, and procedures to sensitize
tourism sector operators to minimize environmental impact and reduce utilities
consumption are in progress, including the Manual for hospitality structures:
Tourism and the environment, a handbook of “good practices.”
2. Working on qualification of tourist behaviors and consumption
In order to qualify tourist behaviors and consumption and replace “short-break”
or “day-tripper” tourism with more conscious ways of visiting the territory,
three projects have been carried out: the Siena Recipe Book – Testimonials of
cooking and the traditions of a people, and two projects intended to promote
and support handicrafts in Siena, Art and craft and Places of taste in Siena.
In 2004, a study on parking tariffs for buses was conducted, and a special-offer
“parking plus museum” package was developed to promote museums and meet
tour operator requests. The initiative is aimed at favoring art tourism and at the
same time countering very brief, superficial visits that “consume” the city
without encouraging understanding of it. The parking discount is intended to
increase the presence of groups frequenting Municipal Museums where, at the
moment, group presences oscillate between 3% and 10% of visitors.
3. Decentralization: discovering hidden corners of the city
In order to decentralize the tourist load and shift it towards less-known zones of
the city, two actions are in progress: Urban Trekking and the realization of
differentiated brochures.
The Urban Trekking experience was launched in 2003 in Siena with the goal of
reducing congestion in the monumental area of the city and safeguarding and
promoting workshops that produce handicrafts and local products. First, three
routes for adults were planned and translated into brochures, and a fourth was
dedicated entirely to children. A standard model of brochure and a particular
group of symbols identifying urban treks were also devised. The creation of an
Urban Trekking association involving various Italian cities is still in the
planning phase, with an official membership protocol that will provide for the
creation of year-round trekking routes and shared actions.
4. De-seasonalization: year-round tourism
In order to promote tourism year-round, the Municipality of Siena has focused
on a set of completely updated informational tools on the city:
- the Siena Events brochure, with calendar of events;
- the Tourism Portal, with all the area’s offerings;
- Sienanteprima, a mini-cd with information relating to events,
exhibitions, concerts, festivals etc.
The City Council actively participates in Tourism Fairs and has launched a
project to promote convention tourism which aims to map structures and train
workers (8 conferences have already been organized thanks to the project).
34
5. Siena: open doors for the differently-abled
To make the city accessible to the differently-abled, new tools have been
implemented, which are part of a total project to be developed over the coming
years: a brochure for the physically disabled, and a brochure and specialized
tour guide service for the deaf. The project on tourism for the deaf culminated
with a Convention (September 9, 2004) held in Palazzo Patrizi: it presented
materials and inaugurated the tourism circuit and the training of 17 specialized
guides.
9.
9.1
Diagnosis of the territory
A general introduction of local diagnosis
(this section, based on the first 8 chapters, will give the general framework on which
the local working group has worked)
Siena has already set forth on the path to utilization of culture as an element of
economic development, in close connection with the desire to direct touristic
development along the path of quality and sustainability. The presence of a
significant number of conditions favorable to the activation of the logics of a
cultural district, and the convergence between logics of planning and
development of both the city and the Province, have led to the de facto
construction of a sort of cultural art district. In this district logic, factors of
“mass tourism” and the drawing of income from cultural heritage are central.
Only recently, a certain level of awareness on the part of public decision-makers
has been reached regarding the possibility that culture may become an “engine”
of sustainable local development, not only through the exploitation of historicartistic heritage, but through the intertwining of innovation, creativity, and
enhancement and promotion of assets and high-quality cultural products.
This analysis leads us to ask, on the one hand, what the most efficacious policies
and strategic plans are for organizing the passage from cultural art district to
Evolved cultural district, and on the other hand, how the benefits can be
extended in terms of economic development from the area of the provincial
capital to that of the entire provincial territory.
In this sense, the time is ripe for the individuation of new roles and logics of
local government that are able to define the planning policies of territorial
institutions in light of this new awareness and of the need to provide tools for its
development. Interventions for the creation of an evolved cluster or district in
the cultural sphere would constitute a response to the demands for requalification of strategic and economic assets within a broader reflection that
takes into account center-periphery (city-territory) dynamics. The expected
benefits run from the creation of new businesses, with an increase in qualified
employment, to the improvement of the quality of the social context through the
development of cultural and artistic activities.
However, in order to realize a cultural district, contributions will be needed
from all quarters: public subjects, which will activate coordination structures,
and private subjects, which will launch new businesses operating in the supply
35
chain. In this sense, the district needs facilities structures, that is, business
support services that favor agreements in the cluster and the communication of
changes in progress, useful for promoting the image of the city and the territory.
9.2
The methodology applied
(this section will describe in detail the methodology applied, the composition of the
focus groups, etc.)
It should be stated that we sought to follow the methodological instructions
provided by project technical support.
The first phase, supervised by a local expert, involved research on an initial
group of documentary sources and materials; to aid in finding data, an initial
presentation of the project to public and private and subjects operating in the
sector was undertaken.
The expert also individuated the frame of reference and the initial data analysis
tracks, providing materials and references to local staff (Elicona Società
Cooperativa), which handled the gathering and cataloguing of useful data for
the compilation of the evaluation form. This activity was integrated with
bibliographic and “site-ographic” research relating to scientific references and
contributions specific to or in any case linked to the themes under analysis.
To improve the quality of communication between the local project manager,
technical support and local staff, a dynamic-technology Web service portal was
created, and filled with documents from all members of the work group.
With regard to drawing up the diagnosis document, material was selected in
order to give precedence to those documents that were the result of
participatory planning activities or constructed using methodologies similar to
those prescribed in the project.
A qualified group of culture-industry operators who participated in
brainstorming sessions, stimulated by interpretive hypotheses regarding the
totality of the quantitative and qualitative data gathered, to construct the initial
hypotheses.
The initial interpretive framework was then verified and enriched through the
conducting of in-depth interviews with chosen participants, often operating in
the public/institutional sector, and through recourse to focus groups, with small
groups of participants from the sub-sectors/spheres of intervention. We should
note that the organization of the focus groups was penalized by administrative
elections in the city of Siena, held at the end of May, which mobilized the
energies and attention of many potential local participants, making actions with
group methodologies difficult to carry out.
Among the important participants consulted were: the directors of productive,
cultural sector and tourism activities in the Province of Siena; cultural service
officials and the councilman for tourism of the Municipality of Siena; the vice
president of the Fondazione Monte dei Paschi di Siena; the rector of the Santa
Maria della Scala Institution; representatives of other foundations operating in
the cultural sector in Siena.
36
Focus group methodology was then utilized with operators of cultural
associations and groups of operators from the theater, cinema and graphics and
multimedia communication sectors.
9.3
The strategic diagnosis
(this section will give a context analysis of the situation of the cultural sector to
identify problems and competitive asymmetries in comparison to competition)
The area of Siena only partially corresponds to the characteristics of a cultural
district, or “a local system of high cultural density (HC)” characterized by the
presence in the territory of a high number of artistic, natural and cultural
resources that identify it as an “HC place” and by a network of economic, noneconomic and institutional players that carry out activities of conservation,
enhancement, promotion and economic management of said resources and
which, as a whole, represent the “HC cluster of the city.”12
Although the concentration in Sienese territory of activity in the knowledge
economy sector and its supply chain is easy to perceive, there is still a lack of
adequate recognition on the part of various institutional subjects. This condition
is indispensable for the creation of a district, which “exists” only when it is
reciprocally recognized by all the institutional, political, economic and social
players. In fact, it is their coordinated action and the development of a shared
vision – supported by data and statistical indicators and by the identification of
targeted projects – which can establish the idea of the district as economic actor
and social collective.
Favorable conditions that support the hypothesis of the presence in Siena of the
catalyzing elements of a cultural district are:
the presence of a coherent territorial development strategy, even though the
focus on the idea-force of culture-oriented development is lacking;
the existence of a critical mass of activities pertaining to the cultural district;
the presence of a network of public institutions capable of financially
supporting the development of cultural offerings (for ex., the Fondazione
Monte dei Paschi di Siena);
the existence of players, institutional and non, committed to innovation;
the presence of players in many fields relevant to the district;
the existence of development potential that has not yet been taken full
advantage of;
the presence of local administrators who efficaciously play the role of
institutional facilitators in other spheres;
a balanced urban development geared towards environmental sustainability;
the awareness of the local system with regard to potential opportunities
offered by its own cultural heritage;
the presence of a real-estate heritage to be set aside for high-quality cultural
programming (for example, the case of Santa Maria della Scala );
the existence of educational institutions capable of organizing excellent
training in the field of new cultural and technological occupations;
12
Lazzaretti, 2001, p. 62…..
37
a widespread culture of cooperation between businesses and institutions,
although this is scarce within the sector in question.
On the other side of the coin, while these consistent elements indicate the
presence of the prerequisites and “unconscious” logics of evolved cultural
district activity, other crucial factors are immature or absent in the territory,
thus making the use of the term “district” improper at this time to describe the
characteristics of economic processes linked to culture:
lack of orientation towards the idea of construction of a cultural district
evolving from territorial government initiatives;
lack of an adequate level of recognition of the idea of cultural district on the
part of various institutional subjects;
the fragmentation of interests and their representation within the cultural
sector;
competition between players regarding resource allocation processes;
absence of a shared strategic vision;
infrastructural gaps, except for the presence of advanced processes of
construction of broad band networks;
the limited local and national presence of private entrepreneurship sensitive
to objectives of cultural enhancement and promotion;
growing but still inadequate openness towards new forms of cultural
expression;
meager fund raising capacity, especially in the public sector;
inexistence of organisms capable of systematically monitoring cultural
supply and demand and providing tools and interventions to support
development in the sector.
We thus have before us an important occasion to submit for evaluation the
hypothesis of the development of an evolved cultural district in Siena, that is, to
develop an integrated set of policies that allow the passage from territory of art
to territory of culture.
9.4
The exogenous analysis
(this section will give the analysis of the external environment to grasp threats and
opportunities and to define some potential strategies. It will also analyze potential
competitors, i.e. territories located in the vicinity which have developed or can develop
the cultural sector as an economic development factor)
We will now proceed with an analytical synthesis of the factors that could favor
the development of the Sienese cultural system (opportunities) or inhibit it
(threats). These elements, not specifically connected to the sector itself, have
already been proposed in this document, each in its relative section. The
purpose of this synthesis is to present these factors in relation to the
development of an evolved cultural system.
The opportunities and threats to the sector, linked to general factors that
influence it, can be summarized into 5 main axes.
Financial resources axis
In general, Sienese economic development can count on resources distributed
by the Fondazione Monte dei Paschi di Siena and by Monte dei Paschi Bank,
38
which already invest a great deal in the cultural sector. The indirect guiding
power these two organisms have over the sector, with their evaluation of
projects as financeable and thus effectively realizable, but this governance of
resources is in reality based on national and local political-institutional
equilibriums, and thus suffers from a lack of strategic development plans that
are agreed upon and shared at least at the territorial level in the cultural sector.
For this reason, we maintain that the greatest opportunity for development in
the governance of these resources depends precisely on such planning
instruments. The Sienese cultural system is also, as in all other territories,
greatly threatened by the scarcity of government and ministerial resources, and
is not opportunely active in fund raising activities aimed at other sources, like
European community funds geared directly towards culture.
Professional, employment and entrepreneurial development axis
We have already noted the quality of the local educational system: the presence
of two universities; the high number of secondary schools which also collaborate
with professional training; the presence of the new Academy of Tourism and the
Business School for sector-specific training; collaboration between the
University and businesses through Province-sponsored research grants for
scientific and technological development. Such an extensive system offers
enormous potential for development in relation to cultural professions (artistic
and managerial), but until now there has not been adequate support for,
planning and realization of sector-specific training activities, excluding those
linked to traditional heritage, such as the management of cultural heritage,
which are fairly well covered in the academic sphere.
A clear threat to the entire economic system is the current employment
dynamics of the territory and especially of the cultural sector, where we find a
high number of effective agents who have no opportune professional position
and relative placement. In general, the sector at this level is greatly impacted by
mechanisms of social and professional mobility that focus little on talent.
The local economic fabric could also – in the hypothesis of a future strong
association with the cultural sector – count on the presence of a young and
dynamic local white-collar class, from which individuals suited to specialize
their activity in the cultural sector and carry forward the development of the
cultural district could easily be drawn. In general, in the city, the employment
pattern of freelance-professionals is highly developed, as is that of cooperatives,
service agencies, and service networks for and among small and medium-sized
businesses, all of which are possible strong agents of a model of evolved cultural
district. The entrepreneurial panorama shows a notable vitality, as does that
already described of associations, which constitute a fundamental substratum in
the current local cultural system. On the other hand, however, this situation also
constitutes a threat to development, because the productive fabric is fragmented
and the cultural sector suffers from the lack of real commercial enterprises and
from the continual and in a certain way sclerotic competition among the players
present for the acquisition of resources.
39
Infrastructural axis
In terms of infrastructures, in a general sense, the presence of the mixed broad
band network, which covers the entire area of the city, constitutes a
fundamental base for the development of the local system. However, in this case
as well, the effective potential with regard to the cultural area does not appear to
be particularly developed, in spite of a few initial attempts to create a system
linked to professional networks in the city (ex. Arsnova) and their working
insertion in loco (ex. Civic Channel and structures for the development of arts
based on new technologies).
On the other hand, with regard to the specific infrastructural potential of the
cultural system, we see a generalized and strong attention to the recuperation of
the historic heritage for residential and productive functions, like, for example,
the completion of restoration of the S. Maria della Scala complex and the
consequent possibility of expansion of the institution’s activities, already in part
actuated with the exhibitions at Palazzo Squarcialupi and with participation in
activities in sectors that are innovative for the Museum Complex. For example,
in the cinematic realm, the now-established collaboration with the Terra di
Siena Film Festival, the hospitality given to the local section of Mediateca
Toscana, and the new collaboration with the documentary festival entitled “Hai
visto mai?”.
For the future, there are plans to transform what is currently the stadium area
into a musical auditorium. This structure would play a very important role for
the city’s cultural development and the activation of some musical institutions
(Accademia Musicale Chigiana, Siena Jazz…).
Cultural identity axis (local and/or interactive)
In terms of local identity, the Sienese system can boast a strong sense of
community represented by:
- the quantity of subjects operating in the field of social interaction, especially in
relation to the small size of the city,
- inhabitants’ deep awareness of the importance of traditions and the territory’s
wealth of assets.
However, these two aspects of identity are not always utilized as factors of
openness towards the outside capable of constituting the basis for new, fertile
contaminations and opportunities in the socio-cultural sphere, which might, for
example, be linked to the significant presence of foreign citizens (University for
Foreigners and stable immigrant workers) in Siena. Furthermore, the abovementioned deep awareness of the value of the city’s heritage has led to the
prevalence of a reductive image of Siena as a Medieval city tied to the past and
not suitable for developing more innovative artistic sectors, which, in
combination with the progressive aging of the population, pushes cultural
production increasingly towards a quite traditional type of consumption.
Political axis
Thus we come to the nodal point of the possibility of development of these new
prospects, local politics. In Siena, in recent years, we have seen a strong
tendency on the part of institutions (Municipality, Province, Districts and
Comunità Montane) to carry forward strategic development plans and general
40
programming policies (Agenda 21, Patti territoriali, PSS etc...), which prove to
be, at least in part, fragmented initiatives. In any case, the presence of these
plans constitutes a significant opportunity, because, within their framework it
would be easy to define an adequate local cultural system development plan,
which is still quite vague and obscured by the focus on the tourism axis rather
than on that of autonomous development. The strong threats to a local system
still based on the logic of culture as strictly tied to tourism are wear-and-tear on
the historic and artistic heritage and the tendency towards mass consumption,
despite the presence of tourism marketing plans aimed at sustainability.
Furthermore, the city boasts another strategic factor for the possibility of future
development of a medium- and long-term programming plan: a significant
political continuity in the management of territorial institutions. The threat in
this case is constituted by the presence of mechanisms of government that are
sometimes characterized by favoritism or corporativism.
Specific discussion should be reserved for threats and opportunities deriving
from the existence of cultural poles geographically near to Siena. The discussion
rests on two main axes:
- nearby cities as possible competitors in the development of an evolved
cultural district (threat)
- provincial territory as a possible internal competitor, which may, however,
be easily converted into an element of strength through localized planning
(opportunity).
Regarding the first option, which would be too complex to develop in full here,
the city posed as the main competitor is the regional capital, Florence, which is
currently evaluating the feasibility of a city cultural district, supported by a
participatory foundation (Fondazione Cultura Fiorentina).
Secondarily, although further away geographically, Rome and Bologna could
prove to be competitive in specific activities.
Regarding the second axis, we must consider that the territory of the Province of
Siena contains exceptional cultural centers in terms of specific fields and
cultural activities, which may place themselves in competition with city
initiatives; and there are also activities that might constitute elements of
enhancement of the territory but which are partially obscured by events in the
provincial capital. Here below we list some of the exceptional elements present
in the territory.
In the field of theater, we can cite two important poles:
the Cantiere Internazionale d’Arte di Montepulciano founded in 1976 by the
Municipality of Montepulciano and the Province of Siena and today run by a
Foundation;
the Teatro Cinema Politeama, a combination of cultural center and
commercial undertaking, with a vocation open to integrations and
contaminations.
Within the musical panorama, we can cite “Torrita Blues” which since 1989 has
offered a three-day summer concert program with important names from the
41
world of blues.
In substance, Siena is involved in a bi-directional competition within the
provincial territory: territory versus city, and vice-versa. This consideration
indicates a level of close contact between the territory and the city, which should
be regenerated in relation to a strategic coordination plan for the local cultural
sector, which would allow for the transformation of this competition-contact
into a collaboration-contact. The strategic plan for the sector could include a
coordinated and agreed-upon mechanism of localization of activities, sometimes
focusing on the city and sometimes on the territory. The need for integration of
cultural activities is thus set on two levels: the sector and the territory.
This type of coordination would support two strategic actions/opportunities: on
the one hand, the integration and functional division of financial resources and
the possibility of attraction of private sponsors and talents at the national and
international levels; and on the other hand, structural partners of the sector or
sub-sectors, for the allotment of forces of attraction towards networks and
collaborations on the national and international levels.
9.5
The endogenous analysis
(this section will analyse points of strength and weakness of the territory in order to
evaluate the feasibility of the strategic alternatives and to better define them)
Returning to what was said in the previous paragraph, the strong and weak
points of the local system with regard to cultural development go back to the
same general axes. Without repeating the analysis of factors already taken into
consideration, we will limit ourselves to synthetically re-proposing the main,
current and notable points of strength and weakness.
Strong points
In terms of education, Siena can already count on a strong and structured
system, with two Universities and various public and private educational
institutions (Italian language schools for foreigners, Arsnova, Siena Jazz
Foundation, Accademia Musicale Chigiana etc...), a high rate of education
among residents and the presence of talents in the artistic and cultural field.
In terms of cultural identity and political strategies, Siena boasts a significant
recognizability as a city and territory rich in cultural heritage (branding of the
city), accompanied by a high level of awareness on the part of residents, a
continuity in the programming of important cultural events, a strong sensitivity
towards the cultural sector on the part of major territorial organisms (like the
Municipality and the Province), and the diffusion of cooperation at the politicalinstitutional level.
At the social and economic level, the quality of life is very high, with per-capita
incomes above the national average, a low crime rate, a livable urban
environment and few phenomena of exclusion. Widespread sociality is ensured
by the presence of many social and cultural associations and by the presence of
the Contradas, with a fair level of integration of foreign citizens, albeit with
some critical states arising as a result of a significant increase in immigration,
particularly clandestine.
42
At the infrastructural level, the presence of a significant real-estate heritage
utilizable for purposes of “cultural work” and the data communication network
ensure the basics fundamental for development.
Weak points
Again with regard to education, we note a general weakness of the relationship
between Universities and institutions of cultural production, characterized by a
university educational offering that is not yet calibrated on local cultural
development. Educational models are still excessively academic and selfreferential.
With regard to employment, intellectual unemployment, or in any case the
incorrect placement of talents, weakens the stabilization of cultural industries,
which are also compromised by the lack of an entrepreneurial mentality geared
towards this sphere, with a little interest on the part of businesses for cultural
activities and cultural management training initiatives. Furthermore, residents
demonstrate limited willingness with regard to geographic mobility, even for
brief periods, for training and professional placement.
In terms of cultural identity, the most critical weak point is the city’s tendency
to obscure, rather than enhance and promote, the cultural heritage of the
provincial territory.
At the political-institutional level, a certain slowdown in development of the
cultural sector is due to the lack of coordination of programs and projects
among the players and to the excess of bureaucracy in relations with
institutions; for example, as already mentioned, with regard to the management
and assignment of spaces for activities.
At the social and economic level, along with the high quality of life, we find a
high average cost of living, with real estate the most glaring example. In terms of
integration and openness, we note as a critical element within a positive
framework a certain tendency to insularity and, at times, a limited attention to
new forms of cultural expression.
On the general infrastructural level, finally, there is a lack of rapid
transportation connections (air, rail and road) for the development of strong
international business networks, and a lack of structures for some types of
cultural events (although the auditorium project currently under evaluation may
resolve this issue).
9.6
The SWOT analysis
(this section will contain the SWOT matrix, a synthesis of endogenous/exogenous
analyses. The section will include different SWOT analyses, one for each sub-sector,
i.e. tourism, heritage, cultural industries and/or one which will synthesize all the
different aspects)
We propose various SWOT analyses, referring not to sub-sectors (chains of
production), but to factors of intervention and direction of the local system
considered crucial to orient it towards a development focused on culture and for
the development of an evolved cultural district.
In particular, the key factors individuate are:
43
quality intended both as quality of cultural production and the system of
knowledge, and as quality of the local system of government
d e v e l o p m e n t intended both as capacity for general growth of the
entrepreneurial fabric and enhancement and promotion of local talent
capacity for attraction both of economic players and talent from outside the
territory
sociality intended as capacity to manage of social issues, and generate
devices and tools to encourage participation, “capacitation” and education of
the local community
cultural identity intended as capacity to bring together innovation and
cultural tradition; this element, passing through all the key factors, merits a
separate analysis due to the relevance that the element of tradition has in the
construction of identity-building processes in the territory in question. In
fact, the Palio and the contradas constitute an absolutely original element of
organization of the city’s social and cultural processes, which should be
evaluated in consideration of their effects on others, which impact economic
development focusing on the cultural sector.
44
Qualities
Strong points
Weak points
Opportunities
Threats/risks
• Recognizability of the
wealth of cultural heritage
of the city and the territory
• Presence of the Universities
(of Siena, for Foreigners) as
producers and promoters of
culture
• Programming of periodic
cultural events
• Uniqueness of some events
linked to city life and
tradition
• Continuity in the
programming of important
cultural events
• Tourism offerings geared
towards quality and
sustainability (integratable)
• Diffusion of cooperation at
the political-institutional
level
• Effects of the Special Law
for Siena
• Average per-capita income
superior to the national
average
• Widespread attention to the
quality of products/services
• Excess supply in supply
chains in specific spheres
• Tendency of the city to
obscure rather than enhance
and promote the cultural
heritage of the provincial
territory
• Weakness of the
relationship between the
University and cultural
production institutions and
territory
• Lack of infrastructure for
some types of cultural
events
• Lack of lodging structures
for youth and social tourism
• Absence of a cultural whitecollar class (with particular
reference to fund raising)
• Insufficiency of air and rail
links
• Lack of monitoring of
culture supply/demand and
individuation of indicators
for the realization of public
and private policies to
support culture
• Presence of vast financial
resources of the Fondazione
Monte dei Paschi di Siena
• Attention to the
recuperation of historic
heritage for residential and
productive use (natural
shopping center)
• Completion of restoration of
the S. Maria della Scala
complex
• Auditorium project
• Strongly promotion policies
fairly well coordinated
between territorial
promotional and marketing
agencies
• Presence of planning
policies at various territorial
levels
• Dynamism of the local
white-collar class
• Continuity of cultural policy
of reference in the
management of territorial
organisms
• Stereotype of a city tied to
the past
• Wear and tear on historic
and artistic heritage
• Internal and international
competition for tourism
• Competition from other
areas of the country
regarding the ideation of
development strategies
focused on culture (Florence
in particular)
• clientelari/corporativi
mechanisms of government
• Fragmentation of territorial
government initiatives
• Governance (on the basis of
national and local politicalinstitutional equilibriums)
and designation of MPS
Foundation resources
• Aging of the population
which incentivizes
traditional cultural
consumption
• Scarcity of state resources
for culture
45
Strong points
• High rate of education of
residents, very high if nonresident population
included
• Presence of talents in the
artistic and cultural fields,
both for motives of study
and settlement in the
territory due to the high
quality of life
• data communication
infrastructure
• Presence of Universities (of
Siena, for Foreigners) as
sites of cultural promotion
Development
• Activities of public and
private educational
institutions (Italian
language schools for
foreigners, Arsnova, …)
• Presence of institutions and
foundations in the cultural
sector (Santa Maria della
Scala, Siena Jazz,
Accademia Musicale
Chigiana)
Weak points
Opportunities
Threats/risks
• University education
offerings not calibrated on
local cultural development
• Absence of non-university
training offerings
• Self-referentiality and
prevalence of academic
educational models
• Limited entrepreneurial
sensibility for goals of
cultural enhancement and
promotion
• Weakness of convention
tourism
• Scarcity of entrepreneurial
“mentality”/training
• Perception of local market
limitation due to low
population density
• Intellectual unemployment
• Difficulty for workers in the
knowledge sector to work in
the field in which they were
trained
• Insufficiency of air and rail
links
• Limited willingness for
geographic mobility among
locals
• Presence of vast public
resources for cultural
investment: including
Bank and Foundation
• University and scholastic
reform
• Development policies for
university spin-offs
• Development of service
networks for/among small
and medium-sized
businesses
• Dynamism and average age
of local white-collar class
• Launching of Tourism
Academy
• Presence of economic
players with interests in the
cultural sector
• Development of broad band
services
• Launching of a program for
enhancement and
promotion and
management of convention
tourism
• Diffusion of freelanceprofessional business model
• Employment dynamics
• Insufficient critical mass in
businesses and activities or
fragmentation of the sector
• Culture of cooperation
between businesses and
businesses and institutions
not widespread among
cultural sector players due
to competition in
acquisition of resources
• Mechanisms of social
mobility not based on talent
• Fragmentation of
productive fabric
• Prevalence of positions of
yield of artistic heritage
(commercial activity) over
productive initiatives
46
Attraction
Strong points
Weak points
Opportunities
Threats/risks
• Recognizability as a city and
territory rich in cultural
heritage (cultural branding
of the city)
• High level of quality of life
• Characteristics of urban
form
• Real estate heritage
utilizable for “cultural work”
(especially Santa Maria
della Scala)
• Prolonged presence of nonSienese Italian and foreign
students
• Significant presence of the
element of “tradition” in the
cultural field (not only
artistic)
• Significant presence in the
city and territory of artists,
musicians, intellectuals,
etc., for much of the year
• High cost of living
• Lack of a critical mass of
activities to professionalize
and establish talents in the
territory
• Lack of rapid transportation
infrastructures (air, rail) for
the development of
international business
networks
• Scarcity of entrepreneurial
“mentality”/training
• Absence of specific training
programs for management
in cultural fields
• Absence of non-institutional
sites for creativity
• Absence of research projects
with EU funds
• Lack of support for
innovative cultural
production processes, with
specific marketing actions
• Absence of incubators of
entrepreneurship in the
cultural sector, due also to
urban re-qualification
• Presence of vast public
Bank and Foundation
• Development of a
scientific/technological park
• Adoption of policies of
transfer of innovation and
research from the University
to companies (research
grants from the Provincial
Administration)
• youth-oriented housing
policy
• Presence of secondary and
managerial training
agencies (Business school e
Academy of Tourism)
• Development of broad band
services
• Cost of housing and
buildings for professional/
entrepreneurial activity
• Competition from other
creative cities or cultural
districts (Florence, Rome,
Bologna)
• Mechanisms of social
mobility not based on talent
47
Strong points
•
•
•
•
•
Sociality
•
•
•
•
•
Presence of institutions
that work with foreigners
Density of state-of-the-art
mass media for social
communication
Social integration and
absence of phenomena of
exclusion
Low crime rate
Quality of urban
environment
Urban form
Sensibility of most
territorial organisms
(Municipality, Province)
High level of quality of life
Contradas as sites of
widespread sociality
Significant presence in the
city and territory of artists,
musicians, intellectuals,
etc., for much of the year
Weak points
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Lack of coordination of
programs and projects
among players
Excess of bureaucracy in
relationships with
institutions
Tendency towards
insularity/favoritism/
corporativism
Immigration deriving from
demand for labor in nonprofessional sectors
“Peripheral” housing
construction
Limited presence of sites for
sociality spread throughout
the periphery and the
provincial territory
Lack of promotion of logics
of social inclusion in
processes of cultural
participation
Opportunities
•
•
•
•
Presence of vast public
Bank and Foundation
Local identity marked by
strong community
tendencies
Presence of a fabric of
institutions and players
that operate in the social
fields
Agenda 21
Threats/risks
•
•
•
•
•
Fragmentation of interests
Crisis in system of
representation
Absence of development
strategy focused on strong
ideas
Impoverishment of the
city’s social-residential
fabric
Development of the market
for second homes for
tourism purposes
48
Strong points
•
Cultural
identity
•
Identity as a city and
territory rich in cultural
heritage and traditions
Local government policies
that favor the origination
of elements that bring
together tradition and
innovation
Weak points
•
•
•
•
Limited openness with
regard to new forms of
cultural expression
Difficulty in relating to other
cultures (insularity)
Low level of knowledge of
other languages
Little willingness on the part
of resident citizens to travel
overseas for study, work
Opportunities
•
Active role of the contradas
in compensating for
centripetal residential
dynamics
Threats/risks
•
Increasing difficulty in
dialogue between residents
and non-residents
(students and tourists) due
to different
needs/demands
49
9.7
Presentation of strategic lines
(the section will identify policy goals, classify and select possible actions on the basis of
their relevance, i.e.: identification of the actions which, using strengths, reducing
weaknesses, maximizing opportunities and minimizing threats, are the best ones for
reducing development problems)
The SWOT analysis suggests the need to preliminarily carry out an action to
sensitize local players regarding the opportunity being presented to the Sienese
territory to go down the path of development of an evolved cultural district.
Many of the strong points that have emerged would in fact need to be utilized
within a strategic plan shared by both the public regulators of available
resources in the cultural sector and local stakeholders. Only in this way will it be
possible to organize and positively orient the various interests, produce
“creative” industries, stimulate and efficaciously regulate the local culture
market.
The process of developing the sector plan and the possibility of constructing a
“work table” with the participation of all the players that currently characterize
or support “cultural work” in the territory will be crucial.
In this sense, the project INTERREG IIIC 3C - strategy for the promotion of
Competitiveness and Creativity in the Cultural industries can play a significant
role, gathering further opinions regarding the analysis and hypotheses of
development built in a participatory way during the preceding phases of the
project and configured in this document, by institutional and public players,
those working in the sector and potentially interested economic players.
The departure point for this work will consist of evaluation and diagnosis
documents, which will be developed/integrated so as to constitute a technical
report that can serve as a supplementary document to tools of local planning
and economic development.
It is necessary to launch a few experimental pilot actions in sectors that appear
mature to evolve according to evolved logics, through activities that support
goal-sharing and integrated actions. In this sense, it will be possible to organize
interest groups capable of impacting cultural programming practices.
It will be essential to individuate an entity capable of proposing itself to all
players as the local agency of territorial development in the cultural sector, or,
the impartial interlocutor of all interested subjects, with the purpose of
providing technical assistance and support for the planning and realization of
actions to promote a local cultural district.
This agency should be assigned the task of reading the effects of territorial
economic development interventions and providing empirical evidence of the
benefits created by investments in the cultural sector.
10.
10.1
Conclusions
The strategic development plan of the cultural sector
(this section should briefly put forward a strategic plan of the sector for the local
territory in the next 5 and 10 years, short and medium term)
We can hypothesize the following strategic lines:
50
promotion of the idea of an evolved cultural district (through participatory
interventions and dynamics) at the political-institutional level; such action
has already been initiated through the analysis, research, diagnosis and
communication activities prescribed by the project INTERREG IIIC 3C strategy for the promotion of Competitiveness and Creativity in the
Cultural industries
pursuit of consensus on the idea of the autonomy of the cultural sector;
activation and mobilization of players and interests beginning with the
Fondazione Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the University of Siena, and
Institutions and Foundations operating in the cultural sector
construction of a coordination group among institutions, in particular
territorial organisms, and entrepreneurial players operating in the cultural
sector
proposal for updating of territorial planning documents (Strategic
Development Plan, Territorial Marketing Plan and Pact for Local
Development of the Province of Siena, Structural Plan of the Municipality of
Siena) gearing them towards recognition of the role of the cultural sector as
it serves the development of other districts/sectors/productive areas
drawing up of a cultural district development plan, individuation of a sector
governance model for the coordination and the inclusion of strategies and
interventions actuated and in the course of being actuated by institutional
players
individuation of pilot projects
organizational planning of tools for the development of a cultural district,
such as an agency of territorial development in the culture sector and a
shared, accessible cultural communication system; the agency will play a
technical support role in the actuation of the governance model
individuated, and will have functions of benchmarking the effects of policies
and pilot projects; it will allocate interventions especially in the field of
statistical-economic analysis, communication and training
launch of the agency for development of the evolved cultural district and the
system of communication about the cultural district
definition of territorial promotional marketing policies targeting cultural
district activities
launch of a few pilot projects and specific actions for the knowledge economy
and communication businesses (spin offs).
Processes of communication and learning (training) will be an essential
component of the plan, starting with the idea that the territory be learning while
the design of a district strategy is in progress. In this sense, learning processes
will be generalized and will work as factors of cohesion and sustainability.
10.2
Final conclusions
(conclusions will include considerations on data, strategies and methodologies applied)
The actions described in point 10.1 will make up a Strategic Development Plan
for the cultural district, which will be integrated with other territorial planning
tools.
The logical scansion of the strategies individuated highlights the need to
assemble a series of preliminary analyses and working hypotheses to submit to
51
the institutional and political organisms in which the processes of local
government of interests and of development are formulated. This would
respond to the widespread and generally shared perception of the strategic
importance of culture and the strong social impact of cultural activities and the
large number of interested parties.
All the actions described above pivot on the planning and organization of an
agency of entrepreneurial and territorial development in the culture sector for
which we can define the main areas of intervention:
monitoring of the culture supply/demand and individuating indicators for
the realization of public and private policies to support culture
realization of professional training and orientation interventions geared
towards the development and consolidation of new “creative” professions
support for innovative cultural production processes, with specific marketing
actions
benchmarking of projects and initiatives aimed at sustainable cultural
tourism
cultural fund-raising activity and technical assistance for the activation of
specific projects to spread innovative elements between the cultural sector
and other economic and productive sectors
individuation of containers and incubators of entrepreneurship in the
cultural sector and for urban re-qualification
development and support of policies to attract and stabilize talents in the
territory
promotion of interventions of integration between the creative
entrepreneurial system and the university system
realization of actions to promote logics of social inclusion in cultural
participation processes and start-up processes for new entrepreneurial
activities.
This agency should provide technical assistance to public decision makers and
institutions, complementing and/or integrating with the subject or subjects
individuated for support or regulation of resources and the supply/demand of
the evolved cultural district.
52

Diagnosis Document

Transcription

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