Mattarella in Agrigento "capital of culture": "It is necessary to regenerate cohesion and proceed together"

“Agrigento intends to speak to the rest of the country and to the Europe of which it is part. Agrigento, the radiating center of ancient Greek civilization as early as the sixth century BC. The Akragas of Empedocles, who defined the four elements as ‘roots’ which indicated as constitutive of everything: fire, air, earth, water. These four elements are now stylized in the official logo of Agrigento Capital of Culture: for Empedocle the unity of the elements was the spark of the birth of everything, while separation was the cause of death. A symbol that reiterates the need to recompose, to regenerate cohesion, to proceed together”. The President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, said this, speaking at the Piradello Theatre, at the inauguration of Agrigento, the Italian capital of culture 2025. Regenerating cohesion, he added, “is called for by the memory of the dead of the wars that bloodied Europe and the Mediterranean and other regions of the planet. Extreme poverty and marginalization require it the lament of the earth, violated by the extreme exploitation of resources, with its catastrophic consequences, starting with climate change”.

“Never before have we been aware of the fact that the work of institutions and public policies are very important and yet they will not be enough if they are not supported by a collective responsibility of citizens”, continued Mattarella. The citizens of Agrigento “from today, protagonists of the Italian Capital of Culture for 2025. Agrigento, collects this precious testimony from Pesaro, in the center of Italy. Which, in turn, had received it from the north of our country: from Brescia and Bergamo. Which, year after year, highlights the ties between the different Italian centres. the value of exchanges between cultural heritages and knowledge”.

Italy, added the President of the Republic, “is full of places full of history, art and beauty. A heritage that accumulated over the centuries has marked its identity. In the succession of experiences of the peoples who have inhabited and grown. Nothing more than this part of Sicily. Nothing more than this land is a witness to the value of the succession of civilizations”. Nature, history, culture “are elements of our genetic heritage”. The Italian metropolises, “destinations of growing tourism, are not the only centers of gravity. The richness of our country lies in its plurality. In its multiple beauty. What gives particular value to Italy is precisely its precious diversity, the hundred capitals which have acted, over centuries, as places capable of expressing community. A great wealth for our national journey”.

Not only the citizens of Agrigento, “from today protagonists of the Italian Capital of Culture for 2025”, but also the “Lampedusani”, “fellow citizens, who the wounds of our time have made the vanguard of European civilization. An expression of solidarity culture”.

“One of the intentions for Agrigento, in this 2025, is to not only be the spectacular stage of the Capital of Culture, but to constitute a stimulus and push for many other Italian realities”. Thus the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, at the inauguration ceremony of Agrigento, Italian Capital of Culture 2025, at the Pirandello Theatre. “Many realities in the regions of Italy – he explains – hold priceless resources that risk deteriorating without adequate care. The many treasures of the peninsula are closely linked to the communities that expressed them, to their peculiar development and we are aware that they exist today , areas in distress, necessary abandonments, risks of depopulation. Restoring balance in places where nature has been forced and where many Italian cultural assets reside is an obligatory path to promote sustainable growth and to strengthen the country. in its entirety”.

Challenge for great opportunities

Agrigento Capital 2025, for Mattarella “is a challenge to increase opportunities where today they have been reduced. A voice that affirms that the suburbs are also engines of culture and planning. This is the challenge that our time presents to us. Agrigento intends speak to the rest of the country and to the Europe of which it is part”.

“Culture is a source of humanity from which to draw to give us new dynamism. The self, the other, nature recites the theme chosen by Agrigento. The connection between culture and nature is more current and pressing than ever. The Valley of Temples, wonderful living scenography that has dominated these lands for over two thousand years, thus become the most fascinating icon of that culture-nature combination that stands before our time as a decisive test”.

“Our Constitution – he added – was far-sighted, combining, in article 9, the promotion of culture with the protection of the landscape. Never before have we understood the urgency of a rebalancing, of a new development which can only be truly such if it will be sustainable on an environmental and social level. Never before have we been aware of the fact that the work of the institutions and public policies are very important and yet they will not be enough if they are not supported by a collective responsibility of the citizens. culture. It’s culture knowing about those who are open to learning about the world, about those who are thirsty to know other men, about those who know that life is the fruit of encounters. the inertia that nourishes history, but rather the growth of knowledge that is transmitted and spreads”. Italians from every region will be attracted by the cultural heritage of Agrigento, “by the proposals that you will be able to put forward. Fellow citizens from every country in Europe, tourists from every origin. A frequency of meetings, of faces, of languages, of experiences, of curiosities, destined to leave their mark, to enrich each other’s understanding and identity”.