AGRIGENTO (ITALPRESS) – “We live in a time in which everything seems to compress and exhaust itself on the instant of the present. In which technology claims, at times, to monopolize thought rather than place itself at the service of knowledge. Culture, on the contrary, is to turn to a broad horizon, to rebel against any compression of our humanism, the one that has made our civilization great.” This was said by President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella, who attended the opening ceremony of Agrigento Italian Capital of Culture 2025, which took place at the Luigi Pirandello Theater. “We look with hope at this year to be lived together with the desire to welcome, to know, to dialogue, to make a fascinating journey, in the company of one another,” he stressed.
At the end, exiting the theater, the Head of State, was greeted amid applause by cheering pupils and students, who waved tricolor flags to the cry “President, President.” Mattarella approached the students, greeting them and shaking hands. Same scene before the ceremony began. The event, opened by the National Anthem performed by the choir and string orchestra of the “Arturo Toscanini” Conservatory of Ribera, directed by Maestro Alberto Maniaci, was conducted by Bebbe Convertini and Incoronata Boccia.Speakers at the ceremony included Roberto Albergoni, Director General of the Agrigento Italian Capital of Culture Foundation 2025; Natalia Re, President of the Italian Movement for Kindness; Giacomo Minio, President of the Agrigento Italian Capital of Culture Foundation 2025; Francesco Miccichè, Mayor of Agrigento; Renato Schifani, President of the Sicilian Region; and Alessandro Giuli, Minister of Culture.The speeches were followed by performances by Gianfranco Jannuzzo with the monologue “Girgenti amore mio,” by musician Francesco Buzzurro who performed the song “Il quinto elemento Fuego,” and by Romina Caruana who read a text from her book “E’ solo un gioco di anime”.The celebrations ended with President Mattarella’s speech. At the end everyone stood to pay tribute to the Head of State.Selected by the Ministry of Culture from a shortlist of 10 finalist cities, Agrigento emerged as the winner for 2025 with a dossier entitled “The Self, the Other and Nature. Cultural relations and transformations,” focusing on cultural exchange among the different peoples of the Mediterranean.- photo Quirinale -(ITALPRESS).
Mattarella inaugurates Agrigento Italian Capital of Culture 2025
