DONATION-BASED CROWDFUNDING, MECENATISMO, BENI CULTURALI: LIBERALITÀ E PARTECIPAZIONE ALLA VITA CULTURALE DELLA COMUNITÀ

The essay moves from dissatisfaction with the legislative tendency to favour lucrative forms of economic support for cultural goods, to show the further social significance covered, instead, by forms of altruistic support, as well as their greater congeniality to the notion of cultural good. This leads to the investigation of patronage, which is legally read from the perspective of liberality as opposed to mere gratuitousness. The promotion of altruistic forms of support for cultural goods postulates the need to overcome the elitist conception of patronage, broadening the possibilities of support. From this point of view, the author identifies donation-based crowdfunding and reward- based crowdfunding as the most suitable tools for the support of cultural heritage: they strengthen the sense of belonging of members to the community, stimulating their participation in the cultural life of the community itself, at a cost that depends exclusively on the consistency of the altruistic spirit present in those involved