Almost fifteen years after the rubble of the earthquake , L'Aquila is preparing to be reborn like the Arabian phoenix : this morning, in fact, the minister Gennaro Sangiuliano proclaimed it the Italian Capital of Culture 2026 .
The announcement was made during the ceremony in Rome , in the Spadolini Room of the Ministry, in the presence of the jury chaired by Davide Maria Desario and composed of Virginia Lozito, Luisa Piacentini, Andrea Prencipe, Andrea Rebaglio, Daniela Tisi, Isabella Valente, and representatives of all 10 finalist cities: Agnone (Isernia), Alba (Cuneo), Gaeta (Latina), L'Aquila, Latina, Lucera (Foggia), Maratea (Potenza), Rimini, Treviso, Union of Municipalities Valdichiana Senese (Siena) .
«An event that affected us not only as institutions, but as citizens. Being the Italian capital of culture is not compensation but represents an element around which to rebuild the social fabric of our community » the words of the mayor of L'Aquila Pierluigi Biondi immediately after the proclamation. «Culture is a founding element, it is the recovery of identity and projection into the future - he added - The other finalist cities will be part of this journey. We guarantee you that we will be up to the task you assign us... long live Italy."
For L'Aquila, a financial contribution of one million euros is now arriving to realize the objectives outlined in the candidacy project. This substantial funding will allow ideas to be translated into concrete actions, resulting in an annual program to showcase the winner's cultural richness and development prospects.
«I felt almost physically sorry to have to award only one city, however L'Aquila is a city rich in history and identity and certainly deserves to be the capital of culture», the words of the Minister of Culture Gennaro Sangiuliano. «The characteristic of which our nation must be proud is that in Italy we do not have just one or two iconic cities but we have at least 80-90 cities , each of which tells a story and an identity» he adds. A characteristic of Italy "that we have the duty to preserve and present to the whole world".
