Anticlerical Laws and the Fondo Edifici di Culto: The Management of Catholic Artistic Heritage between Protection, Disposal, and the Art Market in the Post-Unitary Timeframe (1866–1909)

This dissertation investigates the history, structure, and cultural significance of the Fondo Edifici di Culto (FEC), a unique Italian public institution tasked with preserving religious heritage expropriated during the secularization processes of the 19th and 20th centuries. Through a multidisciplinary methodology combining historical analysis, archival research, and heritage studies, the thesis traces the institutional evolution of the FEC from its origins in the anticlerical policies of the Italian Unification to its present-day configuration under the Ministry of the Interior Affairs in Rome. The research draws extensively on unpublished archival sources - primarily the Verbali di presa di possesso (acquisition record) - to reconstruct the processes by which ecclesiastical assets were catalogued, repurposed, or dispersed. These documents offer rare insight into the transformation of religious complexes into public property and the cultural, legal, and political implications of that shift. The study also highlights the fragmented governance of the FEC’s patrimony today, revealing critical gaps in its documentation, restoration, and valorization, compounded by institutional disconnection between the FEC, the Ministry of Culture, and academic institutions. By tracing the fate of both immovable assets (such as churches, convents, and forests) and movable heritage (artworks and furnishings), the thesis demonstrates how the FEC represents both a legacy of anticlerical expropriation and a repository of national memory. Ultimately, the study contributes to the historiography of Italian secularization, heritage management, and the relationship between Church and State, while offering a methodological model for provenance research and policy evaluation regarding religious cultural heritagein international collections.