The following are considered cultural heritage assets (article 10): state owned things with some artistic, historic, archeological or ethno-anthropological interest such as artworks displayed in museums or galleries, archeological remains, historical buildings, libraries, archives collections, places of cultural and artistic interest, photographs, and other items declared cultural heritage by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities (MIBAC) unless explicitly removed on a case by case basis. The complete national catalog of cultural heritage assets is not publicly accessible. The Central Institute for Cataloging and Documentation (ICCD), an institution of MIBAC, maintains a partial database of items in the national catalog online at catalogo.beniculturali.it.

Reproductions of Italian works classified as "cultural goods" may only be displayed on the Italian Wikipedia using the appropriate copyright tag under its Exemption Doctrine Policy. This requires that they be locally uploaded, low resolution, and must have a rationale for their use. The full-resolution copies on Commons must not be used.