We took part in the States General of Cultural Diplomacy held in Matera on 5 and 6 November. In the afternoon of Tuesday 5 November, our director Rita Orlando spoke on the panel ‘Culture is growth: Matera, a case study’, with a focus on ‘The European Capital of Culture: an instrument of diplomacy through art and culture’, in which she highlighted the European and international dimension of the Matera 2019 cultural programme thanks to the partnerships and collaborations built together with the creative scene in the area, the presence of artists who have come to Matera from all over the world, and the activation of projects on an international scale.

The States General of Cultural Diplomacy offered the perfect opportunity to strengthen the dialogue with Mediterranean institutions and communities, all the more so now that we have won the title of Mediterranean Capital of Culture and Dialogue 2026.

After the experience of 2019, Matera continues to forge links and act as a reference point in cultural promotion, convinced that culture is the best vehicle for growth and social cohesion, but also a tool for dialogue in a new Europe that is increasingly a crossroads of peoples.

Matera hosted this prestigious event in the wake of its recent nomination as Mediterranean Capital of Culture and Dialogue for 2026, together with the Moroccan city of Tetouan. Announced on 28 October during the Regional Forum of the Union for the Mediterranean in Barcelona, this nomination represents a new milestone for the city, which consolidates its role as a promoter of inclusiveness and intercultural dialogue, a reference point for Southern Italy and the Mediterranean area.

All the institutional representatives who spoke on the first day emphasised the importance of the double goal achieved by the city: the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Antonio Tajani, the Minister for Universities and Research, Anna Maria Bernini, the Minister for Institutional Reform and Regulatory Simplification, Maria Elisabetta Alberti Casellati, the Director General for Public and Cultural Diplomacy, Alessandro De Pedys, and the President of the Basilicata Region, Vito Bardi. It was pointed out that Matera, a city traversed over the millennia by peoples and cultures who have forged its genius loci, today offers a key to interpreting the contemporary that must be a shared heritage, increasingly accessible, also thanks to the work of the Italian Cultural Institutes abroad.

A new ambitious project for the Matera Basilicata 2019 Foundation: Matera Mediterranean Capital of Culture and Dialogue 2026

The proposed project for the Mediterranean Capital of Culture and Dialogue 2026 intends to share the legacy of 2019, made up of participation, inclusiveness, social integration and dialogue activated through the languages of culture, in order to further include the Mediterranean in the European dimension, also involving other communities in Southern Italy, in a common path of growth and experimentation. Through a programme of meetings, artistic residencies, collaborations and partnerships, a space is opened for reflection and the sharing of visions on crucial issues such as social inclusion and environmental challenges, the impact of migration, the new Euro-Mediterranean citizenship, the risks and opportunities represented by new immersive technologies and artificial intelligence, intertwined with the transformation of the Mediterranean landscape.

The project, characterised by an itinerant and participatory approach that will touch the various regions of Southern Italy, will unite different communities under the sign of cultural transhumance, a symbol of the primordial need for movement and the link between apparently distant territories. Matera “capitale delle terre immerse” will carry on a dialogue between coastal and inland culture, between the rural past and modern aspirations, turning the spotlight on territories still little explored. This multidimensional journey aims to overcome physical and cultural barriers, with great attention to cultural mediation and linguistic inclusion at all levels, enhancing the stratified and ever-changing identities of the Mediterranean, not as a unitary sea but as a complex mosaic of territories, histories and relations.