It is Procida that has won the race for the Italian city of culture 2022. The town with multicolored houses and the turquoise sea that surrounds the island that bears its name, next to Ischia and a stone's throw from the Gulf of Naples, has managed to "snatch" the nomination of Italian city for culture 2022 with a project that was the best among the various candidates. And so Stefano Baia Curioni, president of the commission appointed by the ministry of cultural heritage to evaluate the various projects in the competition, announced the decision that rewards the Neapolitan city.
The designation took place in the presence of the Minister for Cultural Heritage and Activities and for Tourism, Dario Franceschini. Proposals were: Ancona, Bari, Cerveteri, L'Aquila, Pieve di Soligo (Treviso), Taranto, Trapani, Verbania Lake Maggiore and Volterra. The title is conferred for a period of one year and the winning city receives one million euros for the realization of the project.
“It's a complicated year for everyone, we're trying to support cultural and tourist activities in every way and today's designation of the Italian capital of culture for 2022 is a signal for the future, the recovery. In 2022 we will be back to normal and culture and tourism will be as important and very strong as they were before the pandemic”, said the Minister for Cultural Heritage and Tourism Dario Franceschini opening the proclamation ceremony among the 10 candidate cities. The minister, who complimented Procida and the mayor who was connected, underlined how "the conception of the Italian capital of culture which dates back to 2014, determines a process of enhancement of all the cities beyond the winner, setting in motion a virtuous and attractive mechanism, as for Oscar candidates”.
In 2015 the scepter was shared by Cagliari, Lecce, Perugia, Ravenna and Siena. In 2016 Mantua took the podium, in 2017 Pistoia, in 2018 Palermo, in 2019 Matera (which was also the European Capital of Culture). In 2020 and 2021 Parma, due to the cancellation of the events in 2020 following the emergency.
