Assessing the effectiveness of public investments in cultural built heritage: the case of the umbertine forts system in italy

The paper deals with the topic of the allocation of resources and investment strategies in cultural built heritage. The valorization of cultural assets is often guaranteed by the intervention of public funding. The need to allocate these funds efficiently and effectively, together with the transparency duties to which public administrations are subject, necessitates a careful measurement of the economic, cultural, environmental and social effects. Accordingly, the paper outlines the starting framework of a study on the ex-post evaluation of the effectiveness of public intervention towards the restoration and valorization of three forts in the Umbertine Forts System, located in the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria, southern Italy. The open remarks raised by the preliminary step of the study evoke questions both about the topic of evaluation tools and the methods used in the ex-post evaluation of the effectiveness of public intervention towards cultural built heritage restoration and valorization, and also on the topic of local governance, strategic planning and management of cultural heritage.