The National Network of Italian Mining Parks and Museums was established at the EXPO of Milan on 2 October 2015, during the workshop on the enhancement and recovery of disused mining sites for cultural purposes, organized by ISPRA and the Lombardy Region with the patronage of AIPAI and of the Ministry of Economic Development.
The National Network includes national and regional public entities, trade associations, national councils, mining parks, mines-museums, ecomuseums, mining museums, experts and lovers of the subject. Currently there are 41 members. The Consortium of the Historical and Environmental Geomineral Park of Sardinia is one of the signatories of the memorandum of understanding of 02 October 2015. The Autonomous Region of Sardinia joined the Network in September 2018.
Following are some of the general objectives of the National Network:
- Promoting the issues of conservation, protection and enhancement of disused mining heritage, of mutual knowledge, the dissemination of information and the promotion of individual initiatives and proposals by museum sites throughout the country;
- Creating a program of itinerant meetings throughout the national territory and organizing periodic encounters in which to discuss common areas, projects, objectives and tools to be put in place for the enhancement of the sites;
- Reaching the definition of a reference legislation, in agreement with the Regions, as envisaged for years by museums and mining parks that currently operate on the field without precise regulatory references;
- Supporting all initiatives aimed at promoting the inclusion of Italian mining parks within the international networks and organizations that work for the enhancement of the mining industrial heritage for the development of "responsible" tourism.
In 2017 the first Bill proposal codified under no. 4566 of 26 June 2017 entitled "Provisions for the protection and enhancement of disused mining sites and their geological, historical, archaeological, landscape and environmental heritage" was presented and deposited in Parliament.