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Abstract: The “Soprintendenza ai Monumenti” in eastern Sicily was established in May 1939. The set up of the office in Catania is a part of the broader reorganization of the monumental protection implemented through the reform signed by the National Education Minister Giuseppe Bottai, which aimed at modernizing the “system of arts” inherited from the Giolitti’s age. The legislation passed during the thirties clearly stated the fundamental role of the historical and artistic heritage in forming the identity of the Nation. The essay outlines the cultural framework of the reform, which enhanced the idea of the “ethical State” through an arts’ policy. Purpose of the paper is to verify the impact of the new legislation on the activities of the monuments’ institutions in eastern Sicily, during the war-time, when the emergency inevitably marks the protagonists’ thoughts and actions.