Italians spent 72.5 billion euros
on culture last year, the Federculture association said on
Thursday.
This was 2.4% up on 2017, it said.
Culture spending accounted for some 6.7% of total household
spending in 2018, Federculture said in its 15th annual report
entitled The Culture Business, Policies, Networks and
Competencies.
The report was presented in Rome in the presence of Culture
Minister dario Franceschini.
Household spending on culture fell 4.6% between 2008 and
2013, the worst years of the economic crisis, at the same time
as GDP dropped by 1.6% and overall consumer spending rose 1%,
the report said.
Since 2013, on the other hand, culture spending has risen
13.4% to last year, compared to an overall rise in consumer
spending of 8.8% and a GDP rise of 9.9%.
In other findings, the report said that 1.3 million readers
had been lost over the last 10 years.
It also said that museum visitors rose 10% last year.
Another findings was that the average household spending on
culture last year was 127 euros a month.
Federculture also found that the number of children
discovering art and culture was on the rise, with a 3.6% rise in
children aged sir more who visited a museum or shows at least
once last year, and a 9.2% gain in those visiting archaeological
sites.
Franceschini highlighted the importance of "investing in
young people and the contemporary".
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