LAW 190 OF 13 DECEMBER 2023 ON TOURIST GUIDES specific category of tourism11. As a result, all regional laws that envisaged the introduction of new professional figures (e.g., nature guide) were annulled12. The paradoxical situation has led to a significant reduction in the legislative powers of the Regions in the field of professions. Their authority was now largely confined to the peripheral tasks of verifying the competencies of professionals, organizing training courses, and maintaining professional lists, with a mere recognitive, communicative or updating13. Simultaneously, this has created a legislative gap due to the challenges of interaction with European Union regulations14. It was, in fact, necessary for the State to intervene to define the various professions, including tourist guides, through a central provision. As is known, there was already an initial attempt at central coordination in 2001 11 See: M. Malo, Tourism without Professions (Turismo senza professioni), in Le Regioni, n. 3/2010, 654 ss., and of the same Author, Tourism and professions (Turismo e professioni), in Le Regioni, n. 2-3/2006, 555 ss. 12 The Law of the Puglia Region, dated December 19, 2008, No. 37 (Provisions on tourist professional activities), which introduced new professional figures such as tourist interpreter, congress operator, and sports tourist guide, was annulled with Judgment No. 132 of April 21, 2010. In this judgment, the Court asserts that "tourist professions fall within the subject of 'professions,' attributed to the concurrent legislative competence of the State and Regions". The Legal Counsel then criticizes Articles 7 and 8 of the mentioned regional law, which establish "the creation and maintenance of professional registers and lists," as well as the identification of the necessary conditions for registration in them. Both provisions would be in contrast with the aforementioned Article 117, third paragraph of the Constitution since the identification of requirements for the exercise of professions and the subsequent issuance of relevant authorizations fall under the competence of the State, "which must be valid for the entire national territory and not just for the regional one". Finally, according to the petitioner, all the contested rules would violate the principle of the free provision of services, as well as that of competition protection, both falling within the exclusive legislative competence of the State, according to Article 117, second paragraph, letter e), of the Constitution. 13 Thus, admitted by the Constitutional Court, sentence number 355 of 2005. In the same ruling, the Court reiterates that the regional legislator cannot establish a limitation on the territorial areas for which authorization exists, nor can it prescribe the territorial areas within which the profession can be practiced. Such limitations would constitute a violation of the principle of the free provision of services, as outlined in Article 40 of the EC Treaty. For a commentary on the judgment, refer to E.Bindi – M. Mancini, The Court, in search of a precise delineation of the boundaries of the subject of professions (La Corte alla ricerca di una precisa delineazione di confini della materia professioni), in federalismi.it, 24/2005. 14 For a reconstruction refer to S. Cavaliere, The uncertain boundaries of the legal regulation of the tourist guide profession between European Union law and national law, (Gli incerti confini della disciplina giuridica della professione di guida turistica tra diritto dell'unione europea e ordinamento nazionale), in Dir. pubb. eu., 1/2017.
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