Capital of Culture, an opportunity to seize for the city and all Catanese people

Cross your fingers. And hope. Because although rumors coming from outside the region suggest another favorite for the title of Italian Capital of Culture 2028, perhaps also because the similar experience in Agrigento, Sicily, was too recent, Catania, as can be understood by reading these two pages, continues to demonstrate that it has all the means to aim for a result that would certainly be prestigious and represent a unique opportunity for Catania and for all Catanese.

Winning the title of Capital of Culture would not only mean receiving a direct contribution of one million euros but also triggering a much deeper process. Culture, often underestimated in these parts, would become a driving force for development, inclusion, and urban regeneration. It would also be an opportunity for visibility and revival of national and international significance, with impacts far exceeding the one million euros mentioned earlier.

Meanwhile, the money that would flow into the city thanks to the presence of visitors, the tourists attracted by the scheduled events. But the real “return” for Catania would undoubtedly be the construction of a lasting heritage, capable of extending well beyond the temporal limit set for 2028.

Moreover, the candidacy dossier appears today and increasingly destined, as announced at the time by Mayor Trantino, to merge into the broader Participatory Cultural Plan 2038, which aims to change - for the better - the face of this city.

Let us not forget that a victory would still attract greater investments, promoting innovation and employment with a view to territorial development.

The generative Mountain, Etna, as mentioned in previous weeks, represents the inspiration to look deeply, far, and within oneself, to grow together. But the Catanese, as is well known, are also connected to another mythological figure: the Phoenix, capable, like Catania, of rising from its ashes, to project itself, as emphasized by those who have curated this ambitious project, into a new season of inclusive sustainable development. And to confirm, now more than ever, the famous “Melior de cinere surgo”.