717 law chronology

“Arts Conference: relationships between architecture and the figurative arts” (VI Volta Conference) promoted by the Alessandro Volta Foundation at the Royal Academy of Italy in Rome; important episode, together with the circular “Artistic decorations in building works” (1937), which precedes the promulgation of law 839/1942 (later repealed and replaced with law 717/1949). Speeches by: Giuseppe Bottai, Romano Romanelli, Leo Planiscig (inaugural session); Gustavo Giovannoni, Filippo Tommaso Marinetti (first session: “Architecture and decorative arts in the styles of various times”); Ugo Ojetti (second session: “How the return of painting to monumental tasks can also benefit easel painting”); Antonio Maraini, Maurice Denis (third session: “Return of the figurative arts to monumental tasks”); Marcello Piacentini, Le Corbusier (fourth session: “The trends of rationalist architecture in relation to the aid of the figurative arts”); Roberto Papini, Tiberio Gerevich (fifth session: “New developments of decorative techniques in the context of architecture”); Felice Carena, Francesco Fichera (sixth session: “Teaching as preparation for the trends of modern decorative art”); Alberto Calza Bini, Henry Philip Cart De Lafontaine (seventh session: “Protection and state classification of artists”); Leo Planiscig, Paul Fierens (eighth session: “Evolution of Art Exhibitions and Galleries”).

Circular “Artistic decorations in building works” issued by the Ministry of Public Works where it is stated that “in order to alleviate unemployment in the field of professionals and artists, in projects relating to public buildings for which were considered, in principle, to be technically appropriate artistic embellishments, a quota equal to 2% of the cost of the work was foreseen among the sums available to the Administration, to be used for the execution of the embellishments themselves” .
It follows the draft decree put forward by the President of the Provincial Union of Professionals and Artists of Florence Francesco Pilacci, which attributes to the Fine Arts Union “the designation of the artists who will be entrusted with the execution of the works of art” (art. 3) . The decree will receive the consent of the Corporation of Professions and the Arts

Promulgation of law 839/1942 [Official Journal, 5 August 1942, n. 183].
Debate around the bill, then law 839/1942, promoted by Virgilio Guzzi on the pages of the magazine “Primato”. Speeches by: Giuseppe Bottai, Virgilio Guzzi (n. 8); Marcello Piacentini, Ferruccio Ferrazzi, Ottone Rosai, Massimo Campigli, Melchiorre Bega (n. 11); Giuseppe Pagano, Pietro Maria Bardi, Gianni Vagnetti, Felice Casorati, Arnaldo Foschini, Michele Guerrisi, Carlo Carrà (n. 12); Nino Bertocchi, Renato Birolli, Quinto Martini, Filippo De Pisis, Mario Labò (n. 13); Gio Ponti, Alberto Salietti, Enrico Paulucci (n. 14); Virgilio Guzzi, Gino Severini and Giovanni Michelucci (n. 15); Marcello Piacentini and Virgilio Guzzi (n. 17).

Repeal of law 839/1942 and promulgation of law 717/1949, “Regulations for art in public buildings” [Official Journal, n. 237, 14 October 1949]. The art. 1 of the law establishes that “the State Administrations, even with autonomous regulations, as well as all public bodies that provide for the execution of new constructions of public buildings and the reconstruction of public buildings destroyed due to war must dedicate to their beautification through works of art a share of no less than 2 percent of their total bill”. Industrial buildings and public housing are excluded from this obligation, as are buildings intended for any use with a cost of no more than fifty million. If the project does not include the creation of works of art in situ, two percent is “dedicated to the purchase and ordering of larger mobile works of artture and sculpture, which integrate the interior decoration”. It is also defined that the judging commission must be made up of a representative of the Academy of Fine Arts, representatives of the figurative arts workers (nominated by the trade unions) and representatives elected by the client administration (art. 2). Artists are also required to pay two percent to the National Fine Arts Assistance Fund (art. 3).

First amendment of law 717/1949 with law 237/1960, “Amendments to law 29 July 1949 n. 717, containing rules for art in public buildings” [Official Journal, n. 80, 1 April 1960, art. 2]. The main changes concern the judging commission, which is now made up of four representatives of the client administration (including an artist or an art critic), the designer of the construction, the territorial Superintendent and three artists appointed by the Ministry of Education following the indications of the unions. This new composition of the commission allows us to reintroduce the principle of a close design synergy between art and architecture. Sanctions and penalties are also provided for to ensure compliance with the law.

Mario Penelope, Italian secretary of the International Association of Plastic Arts (AIAP), promotes a sample survey among Italian painters and sculptors registered with the association to identify the problems encountered in the application of the law .

Relevant contribution by Andrea Emiliani to the critical debate with two articles published in “Il Giorno”, re-edited and revised the following year in the text “A reform of law 717 or 2% cannot be postponed” ( Report of the Superintendency of the Galleries of Bologna 1970).

Debate on the pages of the magazine “NAC-Notiziario arte nuova” directed by Francesco Vincitorio. Speakers: Vito Apuleio, Giacomo Baragli, Ugo Ugo, Francesco Vincitorio, Enzo Brunori, Rolando Monti, Marina Le Noci and Daniele Riva, Giorgio Seveso, Ernesto Treccani, Mario Grilli.

With law 412/1975 “Regulations on school buildings and financial intervention plan” the two percent requirement regarding school buildings is repealed [Official Gazette, n. 229, 28 August 1975].

Meeting-debate “Regulations for art in public buildings: the two percent law”, Venice, Isola di San Giorgio, La Biennale – Sala Carnelutti, organized by the National Federation of Workers of the Visual Arts CGL, CISL and UIL.

Legislative decree 817/1978 which extends the two percent cancellation to “all university building works, including completion ones” [Official Gazette, n. 360, 28 December 1978]

Conference “Beyond 2%: art in public buildings. Hypotheses and perspectives” at the San Carlo Theater in Modena, organized by the Province of Modena, by Soprintrend for the Artistic and Historical Heritage of Modena and Reggio Emilia and by the University of Ferrara.

Conference “2% Law, Works of art in public buildings. What changes?” organized in Turin by the Piedmontese Art Association during which a new law proposal on art in public buildings is presented by the Vice President of the Senate Public Works Commission Livio Besso Cordero.

Debate between artists and architects at the National Gallery of Modern Art in Rome entitled “Architecture taken. The architect and the artist compared on an emblematic theme. The expansion of spaces and functions of the National Gallery of Modern Art”, prompted by the results of the census on the application of the law promoted by Sandra Pinto, Superintendent of the GNAM (census partially published the same year by “Il Giornale dell’Arte” ).

Amendment and new diffusion of the law through law 352/1997, “Provisions on cultural heritage” [Official Gazette, n. 243, 17 October 1997, Ordinary Supplement n. 212]. New economic parameters of law 717/1949 are foreseen (going from fifty million to one billion) and the structure of the judging commission is reviewed, now composed of “the representative of the administration whose budget is burdened by the expense, the designer of the construction, the competent superintendent for artistic and historical heritage, and two well-known artists appointed by the administration itself” (art. 2). A direct consequence of this call for attention to law 717/1949 are the various bills aimed at its reform, including “Provisions regarding the promotion of architectural and urban culture” (2004).

First regional legislative recommendation for the application of 717/1949: regional law of Emilia Romagna of 15 July 2002 n. 16, “Regulations for the recovery of historical-artistic buildings and the promotion of the architectural and landscape quality of the territory” [Official Bulletin of the Emilia-Romagna Region, n. 101, 15 July 2002 and Official Journal, 3rd Special Series, n. 45, 9 November 2002]. Following the requests raised by the architect Piero Orlandi, this legislative recommendation reactivates the debate on the law and starts, through the Institute of Artistic, Cultural and Natural Heritage of Emilia Romagna, the census of the works of art created in the Region in application of the law by two percent. The results of this accurate census will be published in the volume “The percent for art in Emilia-Romagna. The law of 29 July 1949 n. 717: applications and evolutions of 2% on the territory”, (2009), edited by Claudia Collina

The activity of the DARC – Directorate for Architecture and Contemporary Art, established in 2000 within the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities, contributes to the relaunch of law 717/ 1949 through the “Pact for contemporary art” between the MiBAC and the Conference of Presidents of the Regions and Autonomous Provinces (2003) and the assignment to the regional directorates of the MiBAC of the tasks of supervising the application [Decree of the President of the Republic of 8 June 2004 n. 173, “Organization regulation of the Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities”, art. 20, paragraph 4, letter v; Official Journal, n. 166, 17 July 2004, ordinary supplement n. 126].

Bill “Provisions regarding the promotion of architectural and urban culture” which, repealing the 1949 law, introduces experts appointed by Municipalities, Provinces and Regions into the commission and extends the two percent to private individuals through tax deductions (articles 7- 8) [Legislative Decree 2867/1999 and then Legislative Decree 4324/2004].

Conference “Duexcento: poetics and politics of art in architecture”, Venice, Convento delle Terese, organized by the IUAV University of Venice together with the municipal administration. Speeches by: Marino Folin, Marco Corsini, Salvatore Vento, Marco De Michelis, Pio Baldi, Margherita Guccione, Fiorenzo Alfieri, Achille Bonito Oliva, Lucia Barsotti, Pierluigi Sacco, Andrea Martella, Armando Peres, Angela Vettese, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Katharina Blaas- Pratscher,Antonio Di Mambro, David Chipperfield.

Conference “Regulations for art in public buildings (L. 717/1949). Comparing experiences”, Verona, Palazzo Erbisti, Academy of Agriculture, Sciences and Letters. The conference is organized by the MiBAC (Superintendence for the Historical, Artistic and Demo-ethno-anthropological Heritage of the Veneto – Venice, in collaboration with the General Directorate for Architecture and Contemporary Art) as part of the VI culture week. Speeches by: Anna Maria Spiazzi, Vincenzo Mogavero, Fabrizio Pietropoli, Nicola Carrino, Fabio Mezzalana, Patrizia Bravo, Teresa Leuzzi, Monica Pignatti Morano, Katia Fratton, Sandro Flaim.

Conference “I art-we city: Nature and culture of urban space” organized by the Ministry of Education, University and Research with the Academy of Fine Arts of Rome, the Faculty of Architecture of Valle Giulia and ‘La Sapienza’ University of Rome and the Enrico Crispolti Archive.

The Regional Council of the Tuscany Region promotes the regional law proposal “Regulations for the creation of artistic works to accompany public works” aimed “at qualifying every new public work also on an aesthetic level”.

Establishment of the study commission aimed at a critical rereading of law 717/1949 and promulgation of the Ministerial Decree of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport in collaboration with the Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities containing the “Guidelines for the application of law n.717/1949 containing rules for art in public buildings” with attached models for the application.

The mayor of Rome Walter Veltroni presents the resolution “Promotion of Art in the creation of public works in implementing urban planning programs” which extends the application of the two percent to all newly built public works or architectural and urban redevelopment [Resolution of Municipality of Rome, 5 April 2006, n. 150]

Publication of the “Guidelines for the application of law n.717/1949 containing rules for art in public buildings” [Official Gazette, n. 23, 29 January 2007].

Conference “Percentage for art in public buildings” promoted by the Institute for Cultural Heritage (IBC) of the Emilia Romana Region, Bologna, Palazzo Gnudi (Sala degli Specchi). Speeches by: Andrea Emiliani, Piero Orlandi, Anna Maria Tatò, Margherita Guccione, Luigi Ficacci, Laura Carlini, Claudia Collina, Franco Gazzarri, Elena Bastianin, Mario Cucinella, M+M, Concetto Pozzati, Giancarlo Muzzarelli.

On the occasion of the “SOS L’Aquila calls Italy” event, an appeal is launched to national and local institutions to apply the law in the context of the reconstruction and restoration of public buildings destroyed by the earthquake of 6 April 2009 in the Abruzzo capital, opening a public debate through a competition to propose ideas, projects and works of art. A direct consequence of this appeal is the meeting-seminar “Art in public buildings” (2011).

Meeting-seminar “Art in public buildings”, L’Aquila, Tent in Piazza Duomo. Speeches by: Ezio Raimondi, Alberto Ronchi, Pina Lauria, Antonio Gasbarrini, Sergio Nannicola, Paolo Colarossi and Patrizia Ferri, Anna Mattirolo, Luciano Marchetti, Giancarlo Santariga, Vladimiro Placidi, Gianlorenzo Conti, Eugenio Carlomagno.

Round table “Two percent. Architecture and visual arts for a culture of urban spaces”, Brescia, Aula Magna of the Free Academy of Fine Arts (LABA). Speeches by: Emilio Del Bono, Roberto Dolzanelli, Paolo Ventura, Giovanni Chinnici, Franco Migliaccio, Marco Frusca, Andrea Alberti, Pierre-Alain Croset, Massimo Minini, Valerio Terraroli.

Circular n. 3728/2014 of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport which provides some operational methods for implementing the law.

Working table “Notorious and invisible: the 2% law” at the Luigi Pecci Center for Contemporary Art in Prato organized on the occasion of the Italian Contemporary Art Forum. The teacher and jurist Alessandra Donati and the representatives of the ARTInRETI network present the draft of the regulations for a reform of law 717/1949, on which they are working in collaboration with Anna Detheridge, critic of Connecting Cultures. Participants at the table: Cecilia Guida (coordination), Antonio Bertelli, Maurizio Cilli, Claudia Collina, Rebecca De Marchi, Alessandra Donati, Lisa Parola, Nicoletta Saveri.

Conference “Art and public architecture after 1945”, University of Genoa, Aula Magna of the Albergo dei Poveri. Speeches by: Giovanna Franco, Stefano F. Musso, Margherita Guccione, Sergio Poretti, Tullia Iori, Benedetto Besio, Roberta Lucentini, Alessandra Cinini, Paola Valenti, Raimondo Sirotti, Claudia Collina, Alessandra Barbuto, Marie Denis, Alberta Pane, Lisa Parolo, Cesare Viel.

Publication, in the Official Journal, General Series, n. 165 of 17 July 2017 and in the Official Gazette, General Series, n.172 of 25 July 2017, of the new Guidelines for the application of Law 717/1949, revised and issued by the MIBACT-MIT inter-ministerial commission after an approval process through the Conference State-Regions.