Agrigento Italian Culture Capital 2025: A Project of Dialogue and Transformation

Agrigento, with the support of its province and the island of Lampedusa, is set to become the Italian Capital of Culture in 2025. The project, inspired by the theme “The Self, the Other, and Nature,” focuses on the relationships between individuals, communities, and the environment, promoting culture as a tool for inclusion, growth, and reflection.

Strengths of the Project

The application dossier emphasizes the importance of Agrigento’s cultural and natural heritage. The city, famous for the Valley of the Temples, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, represents a crossroads of civilizations and millennia-old stories. The integration of past and present is one of the pillars of the project, which seeks to enhance the territory in a sustainable and inclusive way. Agrigento is presented as a model of hospitality, reflecting its geographical and cultural position, and as a laboratory for addressing major global challenges, such as migration and climate change. The primary inspiration comes from the elements of Empedocles – air, water, earth, and fire – used as symbols to promote harmony and cultural transformation.

Main Initiatives

The cultural program is divided into four thematic areas inspired by the natural elements, featuring projects ranging from visual arts to sustainability, music, and digital technologies.

Water: Migration and Hospitality

  • Avenir: A ship designed for sea rescue that becomes a symbol of hospitality and inclusion. The initiative will culminate in the nomination of “gestures of hospitality” as UNESCO intangible heritage.
  • Hospitium: An artistic project exploring the meaning of hospitality through the stories and experiences of Lampedusa. Artist Tanja Boukal’s residency will collect testimonies of migration and hospitality practices to create site-specific works and participatory workshops.
  • The Museum of Wrecks in Lampedusa: Recovery and enhancement of abandoned boats, transforming them into artworks and infrastructures that tell stories of migration and resilience.
  • Visibility and Invisibility of Migrants: A series of roundtables and academic seminars to delve into the social and ecological dynamics of Mediterranean migration.

Earth: Stories and Local Traditions

  • The Aromas Route: Creation of therapeutic gardens and aromatherapy trails, involving individuals with intellectual disabilities to foster social inclusion.
  • Territorial Storytelling: From Vine to Wine: Narratives by local winemakers, transformed into podcasts and public events celebrating agricultural traditions.
  • Diodoros: Enhancement of agricultural products from the Valley of the Temples, featuring tastings of olive oil and wine in the unique setting of Case Barbadoro.
  • Countless Cities: A biennial of world cities hosted in Favara, exploring innovative urban regeneration practices through contemporary art.
  • The Sicilian Gypsum Trail: Creation of naturalistic and ethnographic routes linked to the history of gypsum in central Sicily.

Air: Innovation and Digital Connections

  • Thematic Video Games: Two educational video games to rediscover the history of Agrigento and reconstruct ancient Akragas in an interactive context.
  • Digitization of Archives: A project to preserve and make accessible historical archives of Agrigento and the province, fostering knowledge and research.
  • Sky Reserve in Lampedusa: An artistic and environmental initiative to raise awareness about light pollution and preserve the pristine night sky.
  • Silent Room: A site-specific installation in the Valley of the Temples offering spaces for silence and reflection, contrasting with urban chaos.

Fire: Community and Creativity

  • FestiValle: An international festival of music and digital arts that combines contemporary sounds with the unique landscape of the Valley of the Temples.
  • Liolà Fest: A festival dedicated to Luigi Pirandello, inviting young artists to explore themes of empathy, nature, and relationships through art.
  • Sisters Academy: A performative laboratory transforming a school into a poetic and immersive boarding experience.
  • Art & Faith Green Tour: Organized routes among historical buildings and archaeological sites, promoting sustainable mobility and highlighting Agrigento’s Christian roots.
  • Porter Communities: A socio-cultural project to strengthen community cohesion and combat social isolation through theatrical and narrative activities.
  • Dialogues for a New Social Deal: Events and installations reflecting on new forms of social coexistence through the dialogue between art, philosophy, and politics.

Objectives of the Project

Agrigento Italian Culture Capital 2025 aims to:
  • Promote intercultural dialogue and social cohesion.
  • Enhance cultural and natural heritage in a sustainable way.
  • Create opportunities for economic and social growth through culture.
  • Reflect on global challenges to build new paradigms of coexistence.

Conclusions

The Agrigento project is not just a tribute to its rich past but a vision for the future. Through initiatives that bring tradition and innovation into dialogue, the city aims to serve as a cultural laboratory open to the world. Agrigento Capital of Culture 2025 will not just be an event but a transformative experience for the local community and its visitors.