Agrigento, the city designated as the Italian capital of culture 2025, seems not to have got off on the right foot. The latest setback was the resignation of the president of the ‘Agrigento 2025’ foundation, Giacomo Minio, who was supposed to be in charge of cultural activities in the run-up to 2023. Nothing to do, then, with the structural problems that have plagued the city in recent days. But let's take a step back.
The capital of culture
The Italian capital of culture, borrowed from the European one by the Renzi government, is developed around the concept of enhancing the territory, winking at the tourism and infrastructure sectors. There are ten criteria to be met in order to apply and they include the ‘realisation of works and infrastructures of public utility intended to remain in the territory at the service of the community’, supported by the contribution of 1 million euro paid to the winning city. A heavy commitment, therefore, but with a hypothetically not indifferent economic return.
The choice of Agrigento and the first problems
Agrigento was designated capital of culture back in 2023, a year in which there was supposed to be enough time to prepare for 2025. In reality, the problems started very early: the road signs installed to enhance and give visibility to the city's cultural heritage, commissioned by ANAS, were at the centre of the first controversies. Various grammatical errors and typos caused serious image damage, and the signs had to be redone and replaced in a hurry at the very beginning of January 2025.
A few days later, the Pirandello Theatre was the target of renewed controversy, due to numerous leaks during a jazz concert. The waterproofing work on the roof was completed on 15 January, just three days before the inauguration ceremony of the capital of culture, which was held at the Pirandello theatre and was also attended by the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella. At the same time, a serious seepage problem led to the temporary closure of the important museum of memory in Santa Margherita di Belice, in western Sicily.
The inauguration and new problems
In anticipation of Mattarella's arrival, the roads were also hastily repaired. Only the day before the inauguration ceremony, the governor of Sicily Renato Schifani granted 510,000 euro to the municipality of Agrigento for repairs, which were completed the same evening. Due to the many potholes present, a hasty complete asphalting was carried out, which also covered the city's manholes and forced workers to search for them with metal detectors in the following days.
The continuous discussions and mutual criticism between the municipality of Agrigento and the Sicilian Region have therefore also led to the ‘political’ removal of the president of ‘Agrigento 2025’. The road, however, is still long (and uphill): the city, despite the two years in advance, seems totally unprepared for the next eleven months, with a still very long list of urgent tasks to be carried out. Let us hope that the capital of culture initiative, which should serve to showcase the merits and cultural richness of the chosen location, does not ultimately produce the opposite effect.
