The city of Pordenone, in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, was elected this Wednesday (12) as the Italian capital of culture for 2027.
The municipality of 52 thousand inhabitants won the title after defeating nine competitors: Alberobello (Puglia), Aliano (Basilicata), Brindisi (Puglia), Gallipoli (Puglia), La Spezia (Liguria), Pompei (Campania), Reggio Calabria (Calabria), Sant'Andrea di Conza (Campania) and Savona (Liguria).
The result was proclaimed by the Minister of Culture, Alessandro Giuli, in a ceremony at the ministry's headquarters in Rome, after unanimous recommendation from the judges.
Located in northeastern Italy, Pordenone dates back to the medieval era and is an important cultural hub in the region, with literature and silent film festivals and a renowned museum dedicated to comics, the “Palace of Comics”.
“The jury has turned the spotlight on the deep northeast. We will finally no longer be known as the city of barracks, where tens of thousands of people at a certain time carried out their compulsory military service,” celebrated Mayor Alberto Parigi.
The recognition is also another victory for Friuli Venezia Giulia, where the city of Gorizia shares with Slovenia's Nova Gorica the title of European Capital of Culture in 2025.
“We will be ready to enhance the numerous peculiarities and beauties of our territory,” said Governor Massimiliano Fedriga.
The title of Italian capital of culture was established in 2015 and, since then, has been held by municipalities from north to south of the country, such as Cagliari, Siena, Mantua, Palermo, Parma, Bergamo and Brescia. In 2025, the mandate will be held by Agrigento, in Sicily, and in 2026 it will be the turn of L'Aquila, in the center of the peninsula. (HANDLE)
