1 This book chapter was published in: C. Breuer, R. Hoekman, S. Nagel & H. van der Werff, eds. (2015), Sport clubs in Europe, New York: Springer (pp. 249-269). *** Chapter 14 Sports Clubs in Italy Antonio Borgogni 1 , Simone Digennaro 1 , Davide Sterchele 2 1 Department of Human Sciences, Society, and Health, University of Cassino and Southern Lazio, Cassino, Italy 2 Institute for Sport, Physical Activity and Leisure, Carnegie Faculty, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, UK 14.1. Introduction Italy is a parliamentary republic in southern Europe. It is one of the most populated nations in the European Union—61 million inhabitants—and the fourth largest economy (the ninth in the world). In a similar way to many other European countries, Italy has developed a dynamic and efficient sport system. Especially in top-elite sport it represents one of the most successful nations in terms of Olympic medals and victories in international competitions. Since the establishment of the Italian Republic, after the end of the Second World War and the collapse of the Fascist regime, the Italian sport system has taken on uncommon and specific features. The peculiar role played by the Italian Olympic Committee (Comitato Olimpico Nazionale Italiano, here and henceforth CONI), along with the distinctive features of some of the actors operating in the system—like for instance the Sport Promotion Bodies (Enti di Promozione Sportiva, here and henceforth EPS) representing some of the most innovative experiences of sport for all organisations in Europe—has defined an almost unique form and an interesting field of investigation. The paper aims to explain the main features of the Italian sport system and its distinctive characteristics through a detailed analysis of one of its important components: sport clubs. To this end, after a sociodiachronic analysis of the Italian sport system, a detailed description of the main features and the role of sport clubs in the Italian society are proposed. Finally, as an important case study, the main results of a 4 year action-research project carried out with the sport Club Polisportiva Giovanni Masi are described in detail. 14.2. History and Context Sports clubs play a fundamental role in the current Italian sport system, which is strongly underpinned by these voluntary-based associations. It is estimated that almost all the 12,867,000 Italians who practise regular sport activity (22 % of the population) are members of some sports club (CONI 2012). Moreover, sports clubs were also pivotal in the historical development of the country’s sporting culture. The massification and democratisation of sports participation was completed in the second part of the twentieth century, with two- thirds of all sport clubs mapped up to 1996 having been created from the1970s onward (Baglioni 2010; Nomisma 1999).