Exploring governance in cultural cities: A comparative analysis of three cases in Italy

Over the last few years, several scholars recognised the potential of cultural heritage and cultural organisations for shaping new trajectories of development in cities. However, limited attention has been paid to the role they play in shaping governance structures, although recent literature underlines the potential of their soft power. This paper aims to explore how governance operates in cultural cities and how cultural resources influence governance dynamics and management strategies. Building on the literature on governance and studies on the management of cultural heritage, the study proposes an analytical framework to examine governance configurations in heritage-rich contexts. Through an extensive review of the literature, the article develops an analytical framework that identifies crucial elements and dimensions of governance in cultural cities and empirically tests them through a comparative qualitative analysis of three Italian cities—Florence, Brescia and Pistoia. Data collection is based on semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders involved in the city governance. The results reveal how different configurations of actors, coordination mechanisms, and strategic priorities lead to distinct governance models. The paper contributes to the literature by identifying empirically grounded governance models that help explain how cultural resources shape strategies, objectives and priorities.