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Good Governance

For years, contemporary leadership culture has been hailed as the key to success – but what exactly does that mean in practice? The term encompasses much more than efficiency or authority. It implies transparency, accountability, participation, and a sense of responsibility that extends beyond personal gain toward the common good. In politics, business, and the arts alike, good governance has become a guiding principle, though often more as an aspiration than a lived reality.

A powerful symbol of this idea can be found in Siena: Ambrogio Lorenzetti’s 14th-century fresco cycle The Allegory of Good and Bad Government in the Palazzo Pubblico. In one detail from The Allegory of Peace, a seated female figure embodies balance, justice, and civic harmony – virtues that remain as urgent today as they were 700 years ago. Her presence reminds us that governance is not merely a technical system but also a moral and cultural task: to create conditions under which communities can thrive, conflict can be transformed, and trust can endure.