“Culture is a leaven that can regenerate peace,” and Italy “is the expression of the plurality of cultures.”
This was underlined in Pesaro by Italy President Sergio Mattarella, guest of honor at the inauguration ceremony of Pesaro 2024, Italian Capital of Culture , in the Vitrifrigo Arena of the Marche city in front of more than 8,000 people including 2,000 students of the whole province.
The Italian Republic, the head of state reiterated, is founded on the “dignity and freedom of the person, on equality of rights, on joint participation in the common good. All this has been built over the long periods of history and finds expression in our immense cultural heritage that we have at our disposal.”
The many visitors expected this year in Pesaro, a UNESCO Creative City of Music since 2017, which was the birthplace of the composer Gioacchino Rossini and where the tenor Luciano Pavarotti lived for a long time, are, for Mattarella, “a consequence of that circularity of a culture that cannot tolerate restrictions or borders, which demands respect for the options of every citizen.”
If culture is knowledge, creativity, emotion, passion, feeling, he concluded, “well, it is the prerequisite of our freedoms, including that of being together”.
Mayor Ricci: We wanted a popular start
Upon his highly applauded arrival in the Vitrifrigo Arena, the President greeted everyone, after the Mayor of Pesaro Matteo Ricci and the Minister of Culture, Gennaro Sangiuliano, along with the Archbishop of Pesaro, Sandro Salvucci, and the Bishop of Fano-Fossombrone-Cagli-Pergola, Andrea Andreozzi.
Pesaro-Urbino’s candidacy for European Capital of Culture 2033
Among the speeches at the inauguration ceremony, were that of the Deputy Mayor and Councilor for Beauty, Daniele Vimini, who presented the program of the year that being the Italian Capital of Culture, on the theme “The Nature of Culture.” She recalled the candidacy of the province of Pesaro-Urbino as the European Capital of Culture 2033, after Matera in 2019.
This is a project of beauty experiences that combines the 2 great challenges of today, the environmental one and the cultural one, in which Pesaro, which overlooks the Adriatic Sea, has decided to involve the 50 municipalities of the province. They will take turns, throughout the year, to be the capital for a week, together with the city of the Malatesta, the Sforza, and the Dukes of Rovere, illustrious figures in the history of the city of Pesaro.
Vatican Radio’s tourism and pilgrimage program “Strada Fare” dedicated an episode to Pesaro 2024, and Deputy Mayor Vimini recalled that the “50×50 Capitals Squared” initiative is a great opportunity “also for territorial re-stitching for a province not very large but with an important artistic history.”
Deputy Mayor Vimini: A project in the name of peace and nature
Vimini underlined that nature and peace will be key themes in Pesaro 2024, also because “we won the title of capital in March 2022, a few days after the invasion of Ukraine, and we chose the gingko biloba leaf as the symbol of the candidacy – the tree that resisted the atomic bomb in Hiroshima, reborn in Pesaro from the spores of that plant.
So, the theme of peace will be transversal to many projects. “The nature of culture” theme of Pesaro 2024 also means that each of the 45 approved projects “will have 3 solid feet as its basis: first, the story of the artistic and naturalistic heritage of our territory; second, sustainability in dealing with initiatives and events; third, inseparable from the first 2, technology as a human tool to harmonize the story of heritage with the challenges of sustainability.”
The wonders of the Biosphere of Pesaro 2024
Technology will be present in the form of the Pesaro 2024 Biosphere, defined as the “tree of life” of the Italian Capital of Culture.
The sphere, the Councilor for Beauty explained to us, with its 4 meters in diameter and millions of LEDs, illuminates Piazza del Popolo, involving spectators in a multi-sensory and interactive experience.
The Biosphere presents 3 contents in an innovative way: the valorization of the territory and culture of the city of Pesaro.
Becoming a capital of Italian culture
The criteria to be respected by cities that intend to submit their candidacy are: contribution to a long-term cultural strategy; the artistic and cultural content; the European dimension; mobilization and awareness raising; the ability to complete the task.