Pesaro becomes the center of Italian culture after Bergamo and Brescia.
Italian President Sergio Mattarella will attend a ceremony on Saturday inaugurating the Adriatic coast city of Pesaro as Capital of Italy Culture 2024.
The opening ceremony will be held in the morning at the Vitrifrigo Arena and will be a daylong celebration of shows, food, music and more for all ages, with Mayor Matteo Ricci calling it a “big party that lasts all day”.
According to the Pesaro 2024 website, the seaside city has more than 300 cultural events planned throughout the year featuring 150 artists.
Two years ago, Pesaro received the status of Capital of Culture for its presentation. cultural naturedefeated nine other finalists vying for the coveted title.
Located in the Le Marche region of central Italy, Pesaro is the birthplace of composer Gioacchino Rossini and is famous for its opera festival.
The city’s most famous sites include the 15th-century Doge’s Palace, the Rocca Costanza Castle, and the Romanesque-Gothic cathedral, built between the 5th and 14th centuries.
A brief history of Italy’s cultural capital
Launched in Italy in 2014, the first cultural Italian capitals were Cagliari, Lecce, Perugia, Ravenna and Siena in 2015, Mantua in 2016, Pistoia in 2017 and Palermo in 2018.
Italy’s title jumped a year as Matera in the southern region of Basilicata became European Capital of Culture in 2019.
In 2020, it was Parma’s turn to achieve the status of Italy’s Capital of Culture. The northern Italian city retained its title for the second year in a row to compensate for the negative impact of the coronavirus lockdown.
Procida, a small island in the Gulf of Naples, held the prestigious title in 2022.
Bergamo and Brescia will be jointly awarded the title of Capital of Culture in 2023 after Italy skipped the usual application procedure, as a “symbol of rebirth” for the two northern cities devastated by the coronavirus pandemic obtained.
The Sicilian city of Agrigento, famous for its rich archaeological heritage, is set to become the Capital of Italian Culture in 2025.
The cities competing for the title of Italian Capital of Culture in 2026 are Agnone (Isernia), Alba (Cuneo), Gaeta, L’Aquila, Latina, Lucera (Foggia), Maratea (Potenza), Rimini, Treviso and Unione. Dei Comuni Valdichiana. Senese (Siena).
For more information, please visit the Italian Ministry of Culture website.