Culture capital: Parma rejoices and focuses on its history

Bologna - "A virtuous top-quality example of culturally-based territorial planning": this was the motivation behind the unanimous vote for Parma to be designated the Italian culture capital for 2020, beating many major cities in the running, such as Agrigento, Bitonto, Casale Monferrato, Macerata, Merano, Nuoro, Piacenza, Reggio Emilia and Treviso. For to its cultural projects, the city in Emilia Romagna will be receiving a government allocation of 1 million Euros. In recent years, it was preceded by five equally top-scoring Italian culture capitals in 2015 (the first year the title was allocated): Cagliari, Lecce, Ravenna, Siena and Perugia-Assisi. In 2016, Mantua was designated, followed by Pistoia in 2017: This year's capital is Palermo. The former M5S-supporting mayor of Parma, Federico Pizzarotti, rejoiced on Facebook, picking up on the project claim which clinched its victory ("Culture beats time"), commenting: "Now, just a moment to savor being in seventh heaven and then straight to work, off on this amazing adventure that is Parma Italian Culture Capital. Our hearts are here, celebrating this result, but our minds are already focused on tomorrow: ready to make Parma an Italian and European beauty. Towards bigger and better things, always". Pizzarotti immediately stated that the city has all the right credentials, emphasizing that it was the result of a joint team effort. "Ours is a dossier founded on the subject of time - explains the Culture Councilor of the municipality of Parma, Michele Guerra - the idea at the heart is that the city needs to reassert its rich historic heritage. Parma is a Roman city, which like many other Italian cities is the result of multiple eras - it is Roman, Medieval, Baroque, Farnese Renaissance, influenced by the Houses of Hapsburg, Bourbon, Verdi and so on - that express feelings and visions of a city which contemporary Parma needs to return to, today, in a multi-cultural city with different energies and with generations of youths who understand those times in an all-peculiar and new manner. The challenge therefore lies in managing to tie historic times with the social times the city is currently experiencing". As part of this method, there is a project that involves the city's social-cultural districts, which are areas of the city that are renovated in terms of urban gentrification: the challenge is that beside renovated spaces, there should also be a regeneration of times. The Councilor continues, explaining that culture is like the city's backbone, and the projects have been divided up into four types of activities, referred to as productions, sites, exhibitions and festivals. Theaters will produce something special for 2020, sites will open up with 'open calls' for youths, giving rise to workshops destined to leave a mark, even subsequently. There is also a program of exhibitions, planned with the Palazzo della Pilotta, and festivals, mostly cultural, with meetings and debates. "The thriving heart of the project, the pilot project - the councilor again explains - lies in the former Ospedale vecchio di Parma della Misericordia hospital, dating back to the 13th Century, which is to be renovated and converted into a multimedia gallery, boasting extremely innovative technology, in partnership with Studio Azzurro. It is situated in the Oltretorrente neighborhood, which requires serious urban and cultural gentrification: this multi ethnic, popular neighborhood is very beautiful, and the former hospital provides the perfect opportunity to demonstrate the very spirit of the dossier. A total of thirty-two projects were presented to the city last fall, specifically on the hospital's premises". Guerra therefore expresses "great joy, and now great responsibility, but we are up to the task: we truly want to give it our all". This satisfaction is shared by the entire Region, despite the disappointment of the neighboring cities of Piacenza and Reggio Emilia. President Stefano Bonaccini expressed this in a tweet: "Yet more acknowledgment of the beauties, heritage and excellence of our territory. @FedePizzarotti, let us be proud".