REVIVING HERITAGE THROUGH PARTICIPATION: FAI SPRING DAYS AND THE POLITICS OF CULTURAL CITIZENSHIP IN ITALY

This paper examines the Giornate FAI di Primavera (FAI Spring Days), a prominent public heritage initiative organized by the Fondo per l’Ambiente Italiano (FAI), as a lens through which to analyze contemporary practices of participatory heritage-making in Italy. In March 2025, marking FAI’s 50th anniversary, more than 750 cultural and environmental sites—many of which are usually inaccessible— were opened to the public, attracting over 400,000 visitors and involving the active participation of over 50,000 student volunteers. Drawing on a multi-source qualitative analysis that integrates institutional discourse, digital ethnography and national media coverage, the article explores how FAI Spring Days operate as affective apparatus that shape collective memory, civic emotion and national identity. It argues that the initiative operates as a form of soft civic power, mobilizing aesthetic engagement, ritualized participation and digital storytelling to foster a sense of cultural stewardship. Social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook amplify the event’s emotional and symbolic resonance, contributing to a digitally mediated public of belonging. By engaging diverse audiences across generations and regions, FAI Spring Days exemplify a civic model of heritage democratization and cultural citizenship in 21st-century Italy. This paper contributes to ongoing debates on participatory heritage, media rituals and affective publics, situating the case study within broader transformations in heritage governance. Article History: Received: June 4, 2025; Reviewed: October 31, 2025; Accepted: November 27, 2025; Available online: December 18, 2025. JEL classification: Z11, Z18, H41, O52