Today’s stage of the Giro d’Italia – Naples-Naples – is all about the Neapolitan city and its island, Procida, the Italian Capital of Culture for 2022. A tribute to this beautiful land with a 149-kilometer route and a total elevation gain of 2,130 meters!
Procida, Capitale della Cultura
Procida is an island that needs no introduction. Chosen at the end of September by a committee of seven experts from ten other candidates, it was officially proclaimed Capital of Culture by Dario Franceschini, Minister of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism. The initiative, which aims to enhance the Made in Italy cultural heritage, is intended to be a driving force for our entire country and its artistic and cultural heritage. Ideally, it ties in with the EU Capital of European Culture project, which was launched in 1985 and this year, following the two-year stop due to the Covid-19 pandemic, crowned three “Capitals of Culture” in three different European countries: Lithuania, Luxembourg and Serbia.
What led to Procida being elected was a shared and participatory process, which saw the administration working alongside the citizens, as well as the collaboration of other inhabitants of the smaller islands. The result of this work is a cultural project that the European Union has also applauded. This participatory dimension is also behind the slogan‘Procida. Culture does not isolate’and the motivation for the nomination defines the island as ‘a laboratory for social happiness.’
A forward-looking island
If Procida’s name has very ancient origins that go back to the Greek ‘Prochetai‘, meaning lying down, reclining, the island is anything but dormant. Mayor Raimondo Ambrosino proudly says: ‘It is a place for experimentation, a metaphor for contemporary man, a model of cultures, with practices of inclusion, relational dynamics and care for natural assets.‘ An island that keeps its eyes wide open to the future, focusing for years on sustainable development and new technologies.
An Olympic Philosophy Champion
On the occasion of the inaugural ceremony for Procida Italian Capital of Culture, 18-year-old student Giovanni d’Antonio from Somma Vesuviana, the 2022 Olympic Champion of Philosophy, gave a lectio magistralis in the presence of the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella and other dignitaries, a lecture dedicated to hope. Today he is the Italian excellence that we congratulate, along with a land that does not give up and does not ‘isolate’ itself.
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