Palermo has been chosen as Italian Capital of Culture for 2018.
Culture minister Dario Franceschini recently announced the decision after the selection by a jury led by Bocconi University Professor Stefano Baia Curioni. The other finalists were Alghero, Aquileia, Comacchio, Ercolano, Montebelluna, Recanati, Settimo Torinese, Trento and a group of northern Sicilian towns.
“We have all won,” said Palermo mayor Leoluca Orlando. “The most significant cultural asset we uphold is the culture of welcome.”
In explaining its decision, the panel commented that “the candidacy was backed by an original project, of high cultural value, great humanitarian scope, strongly and generously aimed at inclusion, permanent training, the creation of capacity and citizenship, without neglecting the valorisation of the heritage and contemporary artistic production”.
