UNI standard for historic venues at last

Stop the overlapping of standards, registers, lists of various kinds and administrative chaos. From now on, premises that want to identify themselves as historic will be able to make use of a UNI standard that provides the same parameters in all regions of Italy. Among the main characteristics that premises must have in order to be recognized as historic, having maintained the original furnishings inside them and having been in business for at least 70 years.

Until now, it has been mainly regions and municipalities that have framed historical businesses, with different regulations based essentially on the seniority of the premises, which ranges from 40 to 50 years. They are joined by Unioncamere, which, in its register of historical businesses, includes all businesses that have been operating for at least 100 years. A system that makes no distinction between activities: a bar is historic if it is the same age as a shoe store. In Lombardy, for example, out of 2,848 historic businesses, only 765 are public businesses. The UNI standard, on the contrary, is a "tailored" suit for public businesses.

"This," Cavo concludes, "is not the end point but the first step toward an action to enhance and support those establishments that represent a priceless cultural, artistic and historical heritage of the country. A heritage to be protected by putting it at the center of quality tourism development policies and policies in our cities, aware that the experience in these venues is not just about consumption but is a plunge into the history and culture of the country."

"In more than 100 years of activity, UNI standardization has supported the needs of the socioeconomic system by evolving with them and thus devoting itself more and more to service sector activities. Services, in fact, precisely because of their nature with a very high component of human relations, have a particular need for organizational and structural references to deliver quality performance, guaranteed and uniform over time," - says Giuseppe Rossi, UNI President. "I therefore consider UNI 11891-1 (which I hope may soon be joined by standards for other types of historic establishments) to be a tool that contributes to raising the level of the country's tourism, cultural and food offerings and guaranteeing that experience typical of the Made in Italy lifestyle."