The role of Foundations in Italy’s development

Discussion focussed on the strategic role played by bank foundations, especially following the Constitutional Court’s 2003 ruling that they are specifically involved in guaranteeing social liberties. Foundations have a mission to guarantee horizontal subsidiarity and, therefore, support the country’s intermediaries (from the private sector to the state), today charged with maintaining development strategies and social cohesion. The 88 bank foundations currently existing in Italy have a patrimony of 47 billion euro; between 1993 and 2006 that sum grew at an annual average of 5.7%. Participants focused in particular on governance: according to some, public administrators should maintain a role in directing foundation activities, while others claimed foundations should in no way be conditioned by politics.