The long-awaited good news came yesterday afternoon: Matera has been elected European Capital of Culture 2019! The announcement by the Minister of Culture Franceschini beside Steve Green, chairman of the jury selection, was welcomed by the roar and enthusiasm of all the representatives of the town in Rome. The lucanian town won (with 7 votes out of 13) the competition in Italy with cities like Lecce, Cagliari, Perugia-Assisi, Siena and Ravenna, which will be capitals of Italian culture anyway.
There have been several evaluation criteria for the choice of the Città dei Sassi: one above all is the participation of citizens. Other strategic axes of the Matera2019 program are the DEA, the Demoethnoanthropological Museum, which ambition is to offer visitors a unique experience of the “Sassi”, in order to know the rock civilization and the history of the relationship between man and the environment in a singular ecosystem as the Sassi are; another focus point is the Open Design School, a school of European design that will focus the greater investments on the human resources rather than infrastructures.
According to a study realized with the European Parliament in 2013, when, on one hand, the effects in terms of urban planning are variable, on the other hand the repercussions of the tourism for the less known points of interests are particularly relevant. Also for this reason, the emotion and tears of the regional President Pittella are hiding all excitment of the moment, as well as the sincere abandon of the mayor Adduce, as Chairman of the Committee Matera2019.
It was certainly a long and challenging path, which saw the culmination of a project that is a source of hope for the future. Matera won together with the whole Basilicata and all the lucanian people. It’s now the moment to work together to make this dream true of development for the entire Region!
Photo: Basilicata Turistica