Turismo culturale e arte pubblica: rischi e opportunità delle politiche di maquillage urbanO

Art has always been a central element toward the promotion of urban cultural tourism, however nowadays its role as touristic attractor is growing as never before. Since the eighties within many western cities culture in general and art specifically have become key elements within strategies of urban regeneration, diversification and economic development. Nevertheless, although the idea of a positive economic impact brought by cultural promotion is globally accepted, the awareness that art and culture could play a useful role also within the city and among urban resident is still not really spread. In this context the paper aims to underline the multitasking role of art and culture in contemporary processes of urban economic development. Specifically, through an analysis of urban public art programmes, it tries to highlight on the one hand how today art could contribute to the creation of spectacular cities and on the other hand in which way it also seeks to respond to social and cultural functions. The first paragraphs will present and analyse strategies of urban development based on culture and art in order to highlight the way through which those strategies interconnect with the promotion of the city as tourist destination; then the article will take into account the use of art in urban design actions and it will reveal its relations with the culture of late capitalism, the growing development of urban tourism, the cultural capital’s research by new middle class, the strong desire for spectacular architecture and the growing importance of city marketing in various cities; finally the contribution will highlight how the use of art for urban development could go far beyond the simple desire for urban maquillage policies.