Italians spent 72.5 bn on culture 2018

(ANSA) - Rome, October 31 - Italians spent 72.5 billion euros on culture last year, the Federculture association said on Thursday.
    This was 2.4% up on 2017, it said.
    Culture spending accounted for some 6.7% of total household spending in 2018, Federculture said in its 15th annual report entitled The Culture Business, Policies, Networks and Competencies.
    The report was presented in Rome in the presence of Culture Minister dario Franceschini.
    Household spending on culture fell 4.6% between 2008 and 2013, the worst years of the economic crisis, at the same time as GDP dropped by 1.6% and overall consumer spending rose 1%, the report said.
    Since 2013, on the other hand, culture spending has risen 13.4% to last year, compared to an overall rise in consumer spending of 8.8% and a GDP rise of 9.9%.
    In other findings, the report said that 1.3 million readers had been lost over the last 10 years.
    It also said that museum visitors rose 10% last year.
    Another findings was that the average household spending on culture last year was 127 euros a month.
    Federculture also found that the number of children discovering art and culture was on the rise, with a 3.6% rise in children aged sir more who visited a museum or shows at least once last year, and a 9.2% gain in those visiting archaeological sites.
    Franceschini highlighted the importance of "investing in young people and the contemporary".