Pompei dieci anni dopo. Ascesa e declino dell'autonomia gestionale

The aim of this paper is to review the administrative history of the archeological site of Pompeii from 1997 to 2008, investigating the rise and the fall of managerial autonomy. In September 1997 in fact, an ad hoc law gave the archeological site of Pompeii a new status: its previous status as a local branch of the Ministry of Culture was reconfigured as an autonomous entity. Ten years later, in July 2008, the Italian Prime Minister declared a one year state of emergency in Pompeii, appointing a special Commissioner (Commissario straordinario) in order to cope with "the serious critical situation of the archeological area". Under the 'state of emergency', the Prime Minister decided to confiscate Superintendence's resources in order to implement projects decided by a centrally appointed special Commissioner. In short, the autonomy gained in 1997 was lost ten years later, in July 2008. By looking at the mismanagement of one of the most important archaeological sites in the world, the paper sheds lights on the distinctive features of Italian public administration, questioning the existence of a path of international convergence in public sector change. Moreover, the paper offers a critical view of the recent plans for the recovering of the site.