Perugia is reinventing itself to become the 2019 European Capital of Culture

Strolling around Perugia, at the heart of Umbria, there are so many spots you can’t miss: from the Fontana Maggiore to the Rocca Paolina, the San Lorenzo Cathedral and the massive Etruscan Arch. Perugia, symbol of art e refinement since the very days of yore, is now candidate as 2019 European Capital of Culture, presenting a program of strong urban innovation.

With a remarkable territorial vocation, Perugia has always been a citizen-sized city, and it now hopes to get an international dimension, as others medium European city centres. This mix is the element allowing Perugia to pass the difficult selection process, which got it in the ‘short list’ of the six Italian cities running for the title.

Yet, Perugia need to ‘fight’ with important and prepared challengers: Siena, Cagliari, Ravenna, Lecce and Matera are working at the last adjustments to be made to their programs. In September, Perugia will give the Minister of Cultural Activities and Heritage the final project, and the decision will be taken about a month later.

“On October 15, 16 and 17 we will hold the final meeting,” said Sylvain Pasqua, in charge of the European Capitals of Culture in the General Directorate of Culture and Education (EAC) of the European commission, “and at the end of those three days we will communicate the winner. The official nomination will be communicated only in 2015 tough.”

Since the very beginning the selection was in charge of a commission composed of 13 independent cultural experts, six indicated by Italy and seven by the European Institutions. The two basic criteria adopted were the ‘European dimension’ – that is, the ability of having relations with the other Member States – and ‘the city and the citizens’ – that is, the degree of involvement and active participation of the population.

The winner is to receive €1,5 million from the European Union, even though most of the projects shall be implemented with local funding. The “PerugiaAssisi 2019” Foundation has been created in Perugia in 2012, composed of the Municipality of Perugia, the Municipality of Assisi, the Regione Umbria and over 140 other stakeholders – institutions, associations and individuals.

“The strength of Perugia derives from the fact that it is not running alone but with other places in Umbria,” said Bruno Bracalente, Chairman of the Foundation, “we wanted to create a rich ecosystem of interactions among several subjects in order to build a place of social debate and relation.”

Among the supporters of Perugia, a renowned name: the international actress Monica Bellucci, who comes from Umbria. “You’ll see, we are going to win,” she said, “Umbria is my place, my soul. They say it is the garden of Italy, I say it is also the home for Saints and mad people.”

In 2019, as it has happened since 2005, there will be two European Capitals of Culture: one in Italy and one in Bulgaria. The double nomination was created to build an ideal bridge between European cities, between the old and the new Europe. The winner of the Italian contest will be decided considering the city able to have the most fruitful relations with Bulgarian cities during the pre-selection step. Shared events, artistic exchanges and common appointments are just some of the interaction ways to be implemented in 2019.

It is almost over yet, and we are not going to wait for a long time before the nomination. “For sure, even though we were not to win, we are not going to withdraw from the realization of the projects,” said the Mayor of Perugia, Wladimiro Boccali, “we worked hard, we involved the most dynamics subjects, hence the things we planned will be realized.”

(The video interviews were made by Lorenzo Robustelli)