No city Italian capital of culturea has so far had the resonance of Procida. Proclaimed for 2022 he has gone through and overcome the difficulties of the pandemic with all the determination possible to support a weight that, deep down, he wanted. As in any sporting competition, however, the preliminaries are over and we are counting down. In the headquarters of the Campania Region yesterday it was presented the full year programme which will start on January 22nd. 150 events in 330 days, 44 cultural projects, 350 artists from 45 countries, regeneration of monumental places on the island. An impressive organizational and financial effort. "For our part - said the President of the Campania Region, Vincenzo De Luca – we have invested around 10 million euros”. Other resources will arrive to make historic sites such as Palazzo D'Avalos usable. The former prison that dominates the island will, in fact, undergo a definitive restoration. Special attention is given to transport to avoid any fears about the possibility of disembarking. The Municipality of Procida and the regional transport company are working to welcome more 500 thousand visitors.
The challenge is high and the Mayor Dino Ambrosino speaks on behalf of the small islands, of a minor Italy which in the competition for the award of the title challenged large and prestigious cities, all deserving, however. The choice arose from original motivations, to the point of conveying to the magnificent islanders the sense of an epic trial, like David against Goliath. “But the island land- he says Agostino Riitano, director of Procida Capitale - is liquid, enclosed. It can be a world within a world with its own rules”. We “ – relaunches Mayor Ambrosino – thought of a program that could enhance our identity and leave a legacy for future years”. In this context, the direct involvement of about 2000 citizens in the life of the demonstrations has value. They are the real, authentic wealth: shy and tenacious, reserved and combative, who have always coexisted with history and culture. Literary and cinematographic myths here were not born by chance.
The island , therefore, will be the protagonist for an entire year and its peculiarities of place of the soul, eco-sustainable, di multicultural port will be seen from the opening day with an event lasting 8 hours. What history does Procida have? "The Rome of the Empire - said De Luca - had its cultural background in the coastal strip of Naples and Campania where today we can admire Baia, Cuma, the extended Procida, up to Herculaneum and Pompeii to the south." The 2022 program is vast, and will continue to grow. The international dimension, however, is already there. National Geographic has included Procida among the 25 world destinations to visit. 70 million people they discovered the island through digital media, print media and TV. A worldwide value with people at the center who will be the distinctive, receiving element of a Biennial of Young Artists from Europe and the Mediterranean, of the Echoes of Distances project with musicians from islands all over the world and of hundreds of other appointments . International dimension, co-creation, inclusion and eco-sustainability are the keywords “deflected with five verbs: invent, inspire, include, learn, innovate”. All with the initial i as an island, because you don't give life to a cultural Disneyland, to a fatuous stage, but to an international, dialoguing, welcoming community that will go beyond the legendary 2022. It's Procida.
