The Italian industrial districts scenario is regulated by the Law N. 317 of October 5, 1991, and by the ensuing Laws N. 266 of August 7, 1997 and N. 140/99 art. 6.

Within this legislative framework, the State has assigned to the individual Regions the responsibility of identifying the districts. However, a number of these (Emilia Romagna, Trentino-Alto Adige, Umbria, Molise, Apulia and Sicily) still have not acknowledged the provision. Therefore, these regions do not have an official list and it is necessary to refer to the list issued by ISTAT and other studies and surveys.

The "Guide to the Italian Industrial Districts - 2004" "Guida ai Distretti Industriali Italiani - 2004", created thanks to the cooperation between the Districts Club and the UnionCamere, defines 100 industrial districts that operate principally in the traditional sectors: textile, footwear, wood-furnishing-household articles and agribusiness.

The Region with the highest number of districts is Veneto (17) followed by Lombardy (16). Emilia Romagna is third (11), Tuscany (9) and Piemonte, Campania and Marches with six districts each.

The total number of enterprises operating in the districts is 88,863, employing 996,160 people.