Chapter 6 Port Governance in Italy

After an overview of the administrative evolution of Italian port governance, this chapter examines the main three variables - environment, strategy and structure - and their relationships, according to the Matching Framework. The main outcomes show that the recent privatisation process is still far from an optimisation of port management, since some structural and bureaucratic constraints prevent Italian ports from benefiting from the positive environmental dynamics. Some Italian ports, indeed, are taking advantage of the recovered centrality of the Mediterranean area in the maritime flows and from strategic foreign investments.