Purpose – Italian implementation of PPP has its own features which distinguish it from other models adopted in Europe and in the world. International literature lacks of contributions about the Italian case, while the analyses on this issue in the national literature are not systemic. To fill this gap we aim at characterizing the main features of Italian PPPs, in comparison to the features of such partnerships in Europe and in the world.

Design/methodology/approach – In order to describe the PPP implementation, the paper proposes a theoretical framework describing PPP as it is conceived by international literature.

Findings – A set of factors, like uncertainty on the rules, complex procedures and the lack of private competences  on PPP, hinder the involvement of private operators in PPPs. Consequently, PPP project financing structure is mainly based on public guarantees, even because of scarce utilization of capital markets for funding.

Social implications – Practitioners and scholars can use this framework analysis in order to know strengths and weaknesses of PPP application in their socio-economic context.

Originality/value – The proposed framework represents a useful tool for comparing the application of PPPs among different sectors and different countries. Furthermore, the theoretical framework can be considered a starting point of future research aiming at developing a tool for assessing the expected performance of PPP projects.