C.2s

Hi all

You know how some things are almost the same but different....

Has anyone else come across the whole thing about associations and groups having to be registered with the local commune? I am thinking of voluntary groups of individuals that want to protect the local environment, take part in sports, have some sort of cultural experience, interest in a particular topic (for example archaeology, history, food, textile manufacturing, etc, e, etc). There seems to be a proliferation of these groups, often doing more or less the same thing...sometimes seemingly doing very little apart from meeting for a drink or having dinner together. I can't quite see why most of them need to be registered with the commune...do they perhaps receive some funds from the commune? Otherwise they seem at best fairly harmless, or at worst a duplication of effort and a bit of a vanity project for the people that run them. I don't think there's anything quite the same in the UK.

I am just sort of trying to adapt to the different culture here and work out how best to relate to these organisations.

Chris

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modicasa

Yes they are regulated, either as an associazione or as a comitato. The latter is easier to set up, as it just requires a notification to the comune.

C.2s

Thanks for your reply.

I guess it's a bit like Italy in a wider sense. ..the way these small groups work in local communities (a bit like the old 'quarters' in Siena and other medieval towns) to do good things...and more importantly perhaps help create a sense of community. And yet at the same time they can be not very open to change (in my experience) and not working in any sort of coordinated way! 😀

modicasa

Id say its more what you said originally - vanity projects, associations to have political influence, get money, be a big fish in a small pond, and generally do very little apart from meet , talk ad infinitum about 'very important' things, and then go home. Occasiaonally you'll get some young people who want action and to do stuff, but most of it is just getting a free room where you can play cards!