We are glad to welcome the designation of Córdoba (Spain) and Saida (Lebanon) as the Mediterranean Capitals of Culture and Dialogue 2027, announced during the 10th Regional Forum of the Union for the Mediterranean, held on the Mediterranean Day.

The choice highlights once again the growing relevance of the MCCD (Mediterranean Capitals of Culture and Dialogue) programme in strengthening cultural cooperation across the region.

The motivations behind the selection describe two cities that are different yet deeply complementary.

Córdoba, shaped by a long history that saw it as a Roman capital and the heart of the Caliphate of al-Andalus, is today a place of coexistence, intellectual vitality, and a true fusion of cultural languages.

Saida, a coastal city with more than six thousand years of continuous habitation, is one of the oldest crossroads of the Mediterranean—where Phoenician, Roman, Arab, Crusader, and Ottoman memories coexist with a young, diverse, and dynamic cultural scene.

Two perspectives that interpret the Mediterranean identity in distinctive ways and open new paths for dialogue between its shores.

For Matera, Mediterranean Capital of Culture and Dialogue 2026, this new designation naturally extends the shared trajectory already underway.

The Foundation, which has followed the entire process from Matera’s application to the current implementation of the programme, sees in this continuity an important element of the collaborative effort developing within the Euro-Mediterranean framework.

At the same time, international attention to the MCCD programme has continued to grow.

During the meeting of the EU Council of Ministers of Culture, the Italian Minister of Culture Alessandro Giuli highlighted the significance of the 2026 edition of the Mediterranean Capitals of Culture and Dialogue, which will involve Matera and Tétouan in a year dedicated to cooperation between the northern and southern shores of the Mediterranean. He emphasised the initiative’s cultural and social value, underlining the need for shared efforts to counter forms of exclusion, discrimination, or marginalisation based on ethnic or religious identity, and encouraged European partners to support more open and collaborative approaches.