In Italian municipalities of different sizes, increasing numbers of citizens are taking action to share the governance of commons (or common goods) with public authorities. Citizens are rethinking public squares and streets through tactical urbanism in Milano and Trento, and are involved in the urban regeneration of the historic centre of Genova; they are co-governing public housing in Ravenna, and green areas in Cesena; other examples include the requalification of villas confiscated from the mafia in Bagheria and Bologna, and post-earthquake reconstruction in Ussita. Citizens are also experimenting with circular economy through the shared management of a Reuse and Repair Centre in Genova, and are also providing psychological support during the Covid-19 crisis in Latina; further initiatives include the start-up of cooking workshops to foster cultural integration (for example in Cinisello Balsamo), the renewal and care of mountain trails (for example in Condove), and the co-design of public schools around the country.

Together with many others, all the cases mentioned are grounded in what has been defined as shared administration (“Amministrazione condivisa”). Shared administration is an organizational model that allows public authorities to collaborate with citizens on matters of common interest. Developed within the legal scholarship, this model materialized for the first time in the municipality of Bologna in 2014 with the adoption of a specific regulation on the commons. Nowadays in the Italian context this regulation constitutes the pioneering legal arrangement that deals with the commons in an institutionalized manner.), this model materialized for the first time in the municipality of Bologna in 2014 with the adoption of a specific regulation on the commons. Nowadays in the Italian context this regulation constitutes the pioneering legal arrangement that deals with the commons in an institutionalized manner.

As seen, local governments are proving to be very fertile ground for public-civic collaborations when it comes to the governance of the commons. To that extent, the principle of subsidiarity in its horizontal dimension (Article 118, paragraph 4, Italian Constitution) provides a backbone as it outlines that “the State, regions, metropolitan cities, provinces and municipalities shall promote the autonomous initiatives of citizens, both as individuals and as members of associations, relating to activities of general interest, on the basis of the principle of subsidiarity”.

Based on the principle of horizontal subsidiarity, the organizational model of shared administration favours models of shared governance of the commons by means of collaboration pacts. Such pacts are paving the way towards a new type of participation that not only aims to included citizens in the decision-making process, but also allows them to take action through first-hand engagement. Civic participation through the model of shared administration of the commons thus gives additional participatory means to people that find themselves outside representative channels, and as such contributes to democratic legitimation and institutional and social innovation. In this way, citizens become actors in the field of the commons thanks to the promotional and collaborative role of public authorities. In conclusion, Italy’s action-oriented type of civic participation that takes place in municipalities within the model of shared administration of the commons and grounded in the principle of horizontal subsidiarity constitutes an important piece of the bigger puzzle of democratic innovations. Furthermore, it points to the key role of local governments in experimenting with innovative forms of civic participation.