Legacoop (Lega Nazionale delle Cooperative e Mutue) is the oldest

cooperative federation A cooperative federation or secondary cooperative is a cooperative in which all members are, in turn, cooperatives. Historically, cooperative federations have predominantly come in the form of cooperative wholesale societies and cooperative unions ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Legacoop consists of several associations of

cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomy, autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned a ...

s, providing coordination and advocating on behalf of its more than 10,000 associated cooperative enterprises, active throughout Italy and across the entire production chain.

History

The Federazione Nazionale delle Cooperative was founded in 1886 in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

by delegates representing

enterprises. In 1893, the federation changed its name to Lega delle Cooperative. At the time the federation included Catholic groups in solidarity with secular/socialist groups. In 1919, the Catholic cooperatives split and formed the Confederazione delle Cooperative Italiane. In the 1920s, the fascist government disposed of cooperatives and unions and the organization was disbanded. After World War II, Legacoop reformed. Article 45 of the

Italian Constitution The Constitution of the Italian Republic () was ratified on 22 December 1947 by the Constituent Assembly, with 453 votes in favour and 62 against, before coming into force on 1 January 1948, one century after the previous Constitution of the Ki ...

recognized the social role of cooperatives as based on mutuality and non-profit goals, and involved the government in promoting its development. Cooperatives have flourished in Italy since and are a widespread presence nationwide. Legacoop was among the founding members of the

International Cooperative Alliance The International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), established in 1895, is a non-governmental organization dedicated to uniting, representing, and supporting Cooperative, cooperatives around the world. It is the guardian of the internationally recogn ...

and actively participates in various European cooperative networks. Since 2016, it has organized the Biennale dell’Economia Cooperativa, the main public event in Italy dedicated to discussion and debate on the cooperative economy. The Biennale brings together national and international representatives from institutions and politics, as well as economists, scholars, cultural figures, and media professionals.

Structure

Legacoop is organized with both a territorial and a sectoral structure, under the coordination of a national headquarters based in Rome. The territorial structure includes regional and subregional branches, ensuring representation and support across the country. The sectoral structure consists of autonomous associations that group cooperatives according to their specific market sector or type of activity.

ANCC Coop

The National Association of Consumer Cooperatives (ANCC Coop) was set up in 1957 to organize strategic and planning management for consumer cooperatives. The ANCC Coop creates marketing policy as well consumer and environmental safety initiatives.

ANCD

The National Association of Retailer Cooperatives (ANCD) is an association of

retailers' cooperative A retailers' cooperative is a type of cooperative which employs economies of scale on behalf of its Retailing, retailer members. Retailers' cooperatives use their purchasing power to acquire discounts from manufacturers and often share marketing e ...

s formed in 1973 by the Consorzio Nazionale

Conad Conad (', English: ''National Retailers Consortium''), stylized CONAD, is an Italian retail store brand which operates one of the largest supermarket chains in Italy. History Created in 1962, Conad is a cooperative system of entrepreneurs, ...

and other cooperatives. ANCD represents about 4000 retailers, many under the names ''Conad'' (supermarkets), ''Margherita'', and ''E. Leclerc Conad'' (hypermarkets – a joint venture with the French chain E.Leclerc).

CulTurMedia

CulTurMedia represents cooperatives active in three main fields: Culture, Tourism, and Communication/Media as the successor of Mediacoop, founded in 2004 to represent journalist, publishing and communication cooperatives.

FIMIV

The Italian Federation of Voluntary Integrated Mutuality (FIMIV) was founded in 1900 and includes 100 mutual assistance companies.

Legacoop Abitanti

The National Association of Housing Cooperatives was founded in 1961. Its membership includes 3000

housing cooperatives A housing cooperative, or housing co-op, is a legal entity which owns real estate consisting of one or more residential buildings. The entity is usually a cooperative or a corporation and constitutes a form of housing tenure. Typically hous ...

throughout Italy with a membership of over 300,000. Legacoop Abitanti promotes projects involving new construction, urban recovery, and ecobuilding.

Legacoop Agroalimentare

The National Association of Agri-Food Cooperatives for Rural Development was founded in 1957 and represents

agricultural cooperative An agricultural cooperative, also known as a farmers' co-op, is a producer cooperative in which farmers pool their resources in certain areas of activities. A broad typology of agricultural cooperatives distinguishes between agricultural servic ...

s throughout Italy.

Legacoop Produzione e Servizi

Founded in 2018 from the merge of Legacoop Servizi and Ancpl, it nowadays represents the Legacoop workers' cooperatives active in productions and services.

Legacoopsociali

Legacoopsociali organizes and represents the social cooperatives. Established in 2005, the association includes 1,550

social cooperative Social cooperatives exist to provide social services such as the care of children, elderly and disabled people, and the integration of unemployed people into the workforce. The phenomenon is most developed in Italy, but exists in various forms in m ...

Sanicoop

Established in 2012, it's the federation of Legacoop cooperatives of doctors and healthcare workers responding to the need to give representation to the medical cooperation.

References

External links

Legacoop website

Legacoop history
{{authority control Cooperatives in Italy Cooperative federations 1886 establishments in Italy