Over 130 years more than 50 cities have been elected, but I guess you want to know which cities have been prized this year. Well, the answer might surprise you, because it’s not Paris or London, but the two cities that might be at the bottom of your travel wishlist.
The cities are Aarhus in Denmark and Paphos in Cyprus.
There are more surprise on the list that currently runs up to 2020. In 2018 it’s Leeuwarden in Holland turn and Malta’s capital La Valletta. 2019 will exhibit Matera and Plovdiv to their best advantage, whereas Rijeka in Croatia and Galway in Ireland will host the culture in 2020.
I remember my pride and blissful happiness when Matera in the South Italy was elected to represent year 2019. It is the city that can leave you completely speechless. You feel that it really deserves this opportunity in order to be recognized as a travel destination on a global level or at least in the European Union.
Last year I offered Matera in the article about honeymoons, as one of the most famous white cities because if you want to experience a different kind of vacation, you can pick one of the hotels or B&B’s that are built in the “sassi.” I mean in the older part of the city called “Sassi”. Together with Matera, the city of Plovdiv in Bulgaria will also represent year 2019.
And then what do we have for 2020? We have Rijeka in Croatia and Galway in Ireland.
I have to admit that I don’t know most of these cities and that I am very curios to discover more about these gems of the European Union, but the purpose of this article is not only to list the European Capitals of Culture, but to pay special tribute to the Italians Capitals of culture, because recently the Italian capital has been selected for 2018.
The contest appeared so lucrative that nowadays the culture capitals are chosen not only for the whole Europe, but nationwide as well.
So last week I was cheering for one of my favourite Italian cities: Alghero. My favourite “little Barcelona” from Italy was in the shortlist of the 10 finalists of the Italian capitals of culture in 2018.
In the end I was not disappointed, even though Alghero didn’t win, I still suggest reading this article about secret places you should visit in 2017, where I mention this lovely Sardinian town.
When I first visited Palermo I was so impressed by the “Palazzo dei Normanni” that I couldn’t believe it was the Sicilian Regional court, I mean in Milan at that time there was Pirellone for Lombardy and no Castello Sforzesco yet. However, in Sicily there are so many historic buildings that they could even manage to have such a heritage edifice for the Region.
I visited Palermo in August, and I am really surprised that I am alive after that experience. It was incredibly hot to walk during the day and the fact that my hotel was itself a work of art in Liberty (Art Nouveau) style, made me prefer early hours or late hours, or even better to move to the closest seaside of Modello.
But let me go back to the culture, to my favourite cultures, food and art. You cannot leave Palermo before trying a “granita al caffè” from “Caffè Spinnato”, or a “Pani ca meusa” in the street food stalls of “La Vucciria.
A tremendous amount of movies and video clips have been recorded in “La Vucciria”, maybe one of the most famous was from Prada.
But how did Palermo instead of the other nine contestants (Alghero, Aquileia, Comacchio, Ercolano, Montebelluna, Recanati, Settimo Torinese, Trento, Unione dei comuni Elimo-Ericini) win?
The jury unanimously decided that Palermo was the best candidate because of an original project. This city has tremendous cultural heritage deeply intertwined with contemporary art. The city embraces you with heart and soul and you feel welcome at every corner. Palermo is always learning, providing the best environment to live, create and prosper. It is a trailblazer in civil developments and human rights.
If you don’t want to wait until 2018, you can visit the Italian Capital of culture of 2017. It’s Pistoia, one of the less known provinces of Tuscany. Pistoia has a more industrial heritage than the other provinces, but still has well-preserved medieval walls around the borders of the city.
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