Mattarella swears in and addresses inaugural message: Culture is not the superfluous

President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella, elected Saturday for a second term, today took the oath of allegiance to the Republic and observance of the Constitution before the Parliament assembled in a joint session, supplemented by regional delegates who participated in the election.

In the Chamber of Montecitorio, President Roberto Fico declared the session open and invited the Head of State to take the oath of office in accordance with Article 91 of the Constitution. President Mattarella then pronounced the swearing-in formula and addressed the inaugural message.

During the lengthy inauguration message(about forty minutes), Mattarella devoted not insignificant space to culture andart, stating in no uncertain terms that “culture is not the superfull.”

“Italy is, par excellence, the country of beauty, of the arts, of culture,” the president said. “So in the rest of the world they look, justifiably, toward us. Culture is not the superfluous: it is a constituent element of Italian identity. Let us ensure that this heritage of ingenuity and accomplishments (to be preserved and supported) becomes even more a resource capable of generating knowledge, moral growth and a factor of economic development. Important resource particularly for those young people who see in universities, publishing, the arts, theater, music, and cinema a professional landing place in line with their aspirations.”

Space also for remembrance: “Allow me to remember, to pay tribute to her, a great protagonist of our cinema and our country: Monica Vitti.”

Culture, schooling, education and the fight against inequality are seen by Mattarella as pillars for creating the Italy of the future: “We support a school that knows how to welcome and transmit preparation and culture, as a complex of values and principles that found the reasons for our being together; a school aimed at ensuring equal conditions and opportunities. Building a more modern Italy is our task. But in order for modernity to sustain quality of life and an open social model, animated by freedom, rights and solidarity, it is necessary to take on the fight against inequality and poverty as the backbone of public policies. In the last period, employment indices have risen-and this is an important fact-but still many women are excluded from work, and women’s marginality constitutes one of the factors slowing down our development, as well as a sign of civil, cultural, and human backwardness. [...] Inequalities are not the price to be paid for growth. Rather, they are the brake on any real prospect of growth. Our task-as the Constitution prescribes-is to remove the obstacles. Alongside the social dimension of dignity, there is its ethical and cultural meaning, which concerns the value of people and calls the whole of society into question. Dignity. Dignity is to zero out deaths at work, which hurt society and the conscience of each of us. Because the safety of work, of every worker, is about the value we place on life. No more tragedies like that of young Lorenzo Parelli, who entered the factory for a school-to-work project. Almost every day we are dramatically reminded of this primary duty of our country. Dignity is to oppose racism and anti-Semitism, intolerable assaults, not only on minorities made the object of violence, physical or verbal, but on the conscience of each of us. Dignity is to prevent violence against women, a deep and unacceptable scourge that must be vigorously opposed and healed by the force of culture, education, and example. Our dignity is questioned by migration, especially when we are unable to defend the right to life, when we deny in fact human dignity to others.”

Mattarella swears in and addresses inaugural message: Culture is not the superfluous

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