Italy’s first entries into the MaB Program date back to the 1970s, involving sites focused on maintaining biodiversity.
The first to be registered, in 1977, were the Natural Reserves of Collemeluccio-Montedimezzo (in Molise) and the Circeo Forest (in Lazio), followed in 1979 by the Miramare Marine Protected Area in Trieste.

Following the new strategies agreed upon during the International Conference on Biosphere Reserves held in Seville in 1995 – and the updated concept of Biosphere Reserves as places where biodiversity conservation, sustainable development promotion, and the preservation of cultural values coexist over time – the type of protected areas recognized by the MaB Program evolved.
In Seville, it was agreed that this goal could be achieved by assigning the following complementary functions to Biosphere Reserve territories:

• Conservation of biological diversity, genetic resources, species, ecosystems, landscapes, and cultural diversity;
• Development focused primarily on local populations, following sustainable land management models;
• Logistics to support information projects, environmental education, research, and monitoring related to the needs of conservation and sustainable development at local, national, and global levels.

As of 2025, there are 21 Biosphere Reserves under the MaB Program in Italy.