Catania, the capital of missed culture, between disappointment and the desire to relaunch. Trantino: "We will implement the projects"

Catania continues to believe in it. It continues to want to design the future, not to waste that heritage of projects, ideas, and enthusiasm born around the candidacy for "Capital of Culture 2028." The city made it to the top ten finalists, already an achievement, but Ancona won. A lost battle for the city of giants in literature and music, once a vibrant Seattle of Italy. And perhaps, in the choice, the débâcle of Agrigento also weighed in. But "Catania continues" nonetheless, as the dossier presented to the ministry is titled, amid disappointment and a desire to relaunch.

As Mayor Enrico Trantino comments in the heat of the moment, after extending "best wishes to the city of Ancona," which established itself among the top ten finalists "of which Catania was proudly an active part," he emphasizes that the dossier "Catania Continues" "must be respected, honored, and the objectives pursued, for the authentic values of participation with which it was conceived and realized in the perspective of an evolving metropolis, young and with over a million inhabitants. The path taken does not stop: the candidacy was not a finishing line but a method, a strategic vision for the city that we intend to carry forward with determination, also working on the Participated Cultural Plan 2038 and other medium- and long-term objectives."

For this reason, the mayor has called the representatives of over 100 entities, committees, and associations that contributed to the candidacy project, to the meeting with the press and cultural operators, which will be held tomorrow, Friday the 20th, at 10 AM at the Palace of Culture. "What some consider a defeat must become our strength - writes Trantino on social media - We have a duty to the many associations that have worked hard and believed in us, proposing more than forty projects that we presented in our proposal. And we will strive to implement it," he continues, confirming the Administration's commitment.

The mayor thanks Parmitano and Fiorello "for supporting us". And he reiterates: "Catania Continues is not just a title. It is a way to mark a new course, stopping the self-pity and learning to react." Representatives from Pts and Melting Pro, the companies that assisted the Municipality in the candidacy, will also be present at tomorrow's meeting. It will be an opportunity to explain which proposals are intended to be pursued, in what timeframe, and with what resources.

"Let's start from the participatory path, from discussing together - comments Paolo Di Caro, director of Culture of the Municipality, on the phone from Rome - the method we have used is, I believe, the strength of the dossier. Not top-down choices but sharing with the territory." "As they say in rugby: 'You either win or learn' - comments professor Paolo Dalla Sega, with long experience in cultural planning, senior advisor of Pts, the project team of the candidacy - From the candidacy Catania has learned to design culture together and to design the city through culture. A wonderful heritage. We have just begun. As our title says 'Catania continues', we continue to relaunch the projects of the dossier".

Support comes from President of the Region Renato Schifani: "We hope that the Sicilian city will know and be able to propose its candidacy again to obtain the recognition it deserves. We commit ourselves from now on to ensure the support of the Sicilian Region." Meanwhile, the coordinator Mpa, Pina Alberghina hopes that "the work done so far is not wasted, it is important to have a shared commitment from everyone to give continuity to this path".

Critical is the comment from Maurizio Caserta, municipal councilor of the Pd: "The failure to designate Catania as the capital of culture 2028 is a defeat for the entire city. Many quality cultural entities, both private and public, had contributed to building the project. Unfortunately, the structural deficits of the city and the numerous inefficiencies of the administration have prevented giving that project the solidity and reliability it needed. We must also note the political marginality of Mayor Trantino: in Meloni's Italy, he cannot find sponsors for the only large city governed by FdI. We hope that we can restart on a more shared and cross-cutting basis".