Usually, the town is a full-fledged comune, but not always: frazioni and other small places with a high level of civic pride may have their own Pro Loco.
The Pro Loco is a volunteer, grass-roots organization, and must not be confused with such publicly financed organizations as the Azienda di Promozione Turistica (APT) or the Ufficio di Informazione e Accoglienza Turistica (IAT), the aim of which is to promote tourism.
Still, Pro Loco could have a legal identity as a no-profit organization if part of the UNPLI, Unione Nazionale Pro Loco d'Italia,[1] the National Union: Pro Loco with a statute in line with UNPLI's protocols could have legal advice and some fiscal advantages, mostly a reduced fare in paying the (quite expensive) rights to SIAE to play music or theatre in public places.
In most Italian towns, the Pro Loco's main purpose is to organize, finance, advertise, and operate the local Sagra or palio; it is thus quintessentially at the service of residents rather than visitors.
In some places though, a wider purpose has been taken on, that of promoting the town's products or tourism; and in some cases, a very active and socially conscious Pro Loco will sponsor publications, scholarly research, or the restoration of local monuments.