Time.news – 24 Italian cities have presented the expression of interest to the Ministry of Culture to participate in the title of Italian Capital of Culture for the year 2024. Almost identical geographical distribution between the different areas of the country with 7 cities in the center 7 in the north and 10 between the south and the islands. Syracuse will be the only Sicilian provincial capital to participate.
“This is a precise choice to enhance our unique cultural heritage already included in the Unesco WHL. Now we will involve the entire city in an inclusive project that will have its strength in the wonderful example of historical and cultural stratification that we represent, from 734 BC. A project that will be able to tell what great Syracuse represents “, say the mayor Francesco Italia and the councilor for Culture and Unesco Heritage Fabio Granata, who signed the manifestation of interest addressed to the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and which must be integrated with a dossier on the historical and cultural importance of the city. “We will involve citizens, associations and the main institutions of the city for an ambitious, but not unrealistic, goal”, they conclude.
In 2014 it was Matera
The title of Italian Capital of Culture stems from the lively and participatory competition that culminated on 17 October 2014 in the designation of Matera European Capital of Culture 2019. The commitment, creativity and passion that led the six finalists to build candidacy dossiers of high design quality convinced the government to proclaim the other five competitors, namely Cagliari, Lecce, Perugia, Ravenna and Siena, Italian capitals of Culture 2015 and to simultaneously call for a selection to identify, starting from 2016, the city deserving of this title.
The first chosen was Mantua, followed by Pistoia in 2017, Palermo in 2018 and Parma in 2020, title also extended in 2021 due to the pandemic emergency. In 2022 it will be Procida, while in 2023 it will be the turn of Bergamo and Brescia. “The multi-year history of this challenge has proved the whole ability of culture to set virtuous mechanisms in motion and enhancement paths of all cities beyond the winner “, says Minister Dario Franceschini.
This is the list of cities that have submitted the application for 2024: Ala (Trento); Aliano (Matera); Ascoli Piceno; Asolo (Treviso); Burgio (Agrigento); Capistrano (Vibo Valentia); Chioggia (Venice); Cittadella (Padua); Conversano (Bari); Diamante (Cosenza); Gioia dei Marsi (L’Aquila); Grosseto; La Maddalena (Sassari); Mesagne (Brindisi); Pesaro (Pesaro and Urbino); Pordenone; Saluzzo (Cuneo); Sestri Levante (Genoa); Syracuse; Mountain Municipalities Union Amiata Grossetana (Grosseto); Union of Municipalities Paestum-Alto Cilento (Salerno); Viareggio (Lucca); Vicenza; Vinci (Florence).
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