SUSTAINABILITY IN MUSEUMS PRACTICES EVIDENCES FROM ITALIAN PERSPECTIVE

elying on literature on the theme and on the International Standards the paper analyses Museums practices in Italy to understand if and how sustainability is achieved. After investigating a sample of Italian museums, pointing out their goals, the paper carries out a case study based on museum annual reports and qualitative data. Considering the Italian perspective, social sustainability prevails on the economic one. With respect to environmental sustainability, some difficulties emerged. This study provides an insight into sustainability practices and their communication in the Italian museum The study is useful for managers and professionals in the field. Sustainability remains a new topic on Italian museums and a field of interest in academic research. This is one of the first studies in Italy that addressed sustainability in the museum sector. Among the limitations, the dimension of the sample has to be mentioned. It is due to the fact that only a few museums prepare annual/social reports.