In line with an industrial system that unavoidably had to build enterprises outside Italy and Europe, it is essential to enhance the tie between cultural heritage and local identity to rewrite a model of Italian productivity and attractiveness. This is the message launched by Pier Luigi D'Agata, the Director General of Confindustria Assafrica & Mediterraneo, opening the fifth edition of the International Communication Summit – ICS – which was held in Rome on November 19, 2014.

“Italian brand is belonging and identity - highlighted D'Agata - and also the archaeological heritage is one of its main vehicles. It is our past that invites us to return a country which, since ancient Rome, has produced and exported culture, business, infrastructure, lifestyle, patronage and micro-patronage”. An example? “The crowfunding project started for the Domus Aurea, linked to the three-year system of tax incentives called “Art Bonus”, which provides for the deduction of 65% of the businesses and citizens donations for the restoration of public cultural assets.”

“Saying that “Made in Italy works anyway” - concluded D'Agata - is a reassuring myth, that makes us bask in a comfortable past. We must be the “Brand Italia” bearers, because products can be copied, but identity can’t".