This article argues the case for local authorities having an important role in a renewed democratic public education, adopting the term "educative commune" to express an image of the local authority as a protagonist working with others to build a local educational project. As well as considering the role of this educative commune in a democratic public education, the author also wants to consider what conditions may benefit its development. But first, the author offers an example of what an "educative commune" looks like in practice, taking the case of Reggio Emilia, a city of some 160,000 people in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy.