Role distribution in public-private partnerships: the case of heritage management in Italy

In this article we analyze how private partners can be actively involved in preservation-related activities without mining the overarching logic of unitary heritage preservation at the national level, so that public–private partnerships may become effective instruments of cultural policy. We use three Italian cases in which private actors are charged with activities typically under the domain of the public to demonstrate how tasks can be distributed among public and private stakeholders to cooperatively handle projects requiring a high level of coordination, intense competencies, sharing, and integration between partners of different natures. A clear definition of individual players’ responsibility, timing and resource allocation criteria, shared commitment, and bottom-up approaches are important elements in fostering success in the public–private partnerships.