Matera 2019, Bonisoli: The country's international image is at stake here. South to be ambitious

The country’s international image is "at stake on Matera 2019." This was stated by the Minister of Cultural Heritage, Alberto Bonisoli, who visited the city together with the Minister of the South, Barbara Lezzi. “Matera can show that the South can surprise, respecting the times and working well. Let the South be ambitious,” said the minister, who began visiting the city from the Cava del Sole. Bonisoli then proceeded to the Sassi and visited three of the ministry’s institutes in the area (the State Archives, the Museum of Medieval and Modern Art at Palazzo Lanfranchi and the “Ridola” National Archaeological Museum), where he wanted to meet with managers and staff. The tour ended at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Bruna and St. Eustace, which was restored two years ago under the supervision of the Basilicata Superintendence of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape with state funding. During the visit he also met with students from the School of Higher Education of the Higher Institute for Conservation and Restoration, accompanied by director Giorgio Sobrà.

Bonisoli, concluding the visit said, “I noticed, and I am pleased, the spirit of collaboration and I anticipate that one of the things we will work on at the system level is the international aspect. We will meet in Rome on July 18 with the president of the Matera-Basilicata 2019 Foundation, Salvatore Adduce, to reason about how to make 101 percent of the cultural program, and the next day we can go together to Plovdiv. And since we have two European Capitals of Culture, we might as well start synergistic action right away. I am quite ambitious. We have to be for two reasons: for what Matera represents for the citizens and for Basilicata, and for what Matera 2019 represents for the Mezzogiorno. We have an opportunity to raise the self-esteem of the Mezzogiorno: something exceptional, internationally, can be achieved in practice in a reality that is not easy. We have already mentioned the serious delays, but now we have a chance to show that it can be done. And what we can guarantee is that we are optimistically focused on achieving this goal.”

Matera 2019, Bonisoli: The country's international image is at stake here. South to be ambitious

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