Sailing heavy weather. Underwater Cultural Heritage management in Italy

Underwater cultural heritage management in Italy, as the overall cultural heritage management, despite of the creation and development of several large-scale projects, is in a stuck situation since several decades. Political incapacity to identify a systematic and long term program, bureaucratic dif culties and legislative black-outs, on various levels and sectors (insti- tutional, academic, private), make it dif cult to plan and organize long term and far-sighting activities and lastly, the chaotic structuring of the management discipline hinders a necessary collaboration between stakeholders. National and local Ministerial Institutions, Universities, Pri- vate organizations and enterprises as well as the communities appear sometimes unconnected and in contrasting positions. Contrary, a complex and longue durée activity, as cultural heritage management should be, needs programming, systemic approach, cooperation and sharing.