Gravina in Puglia heads to the final hearing for Italian Capital of Culture 2028: On Friday, February 27, the Ministry of Culture will hear the presentation of the “Radici al futuro” (Roots to the Future) project, based on hospitality, participation, and development.
Gravina in Puglia will be called upon to present its candidacy for Italian Capital of Culture 2028.
The “City of Water and Stone” is among the ten finalists selected at the national level and the only candidate from Puglia to have reached the final stage, after a process that also involved other regional entities. This result recognizes the solidity of the project presented and the quality of the work carried out in recent months.
The delegation, led by Mayor Fedele Lagreca, represents the entire citizenry: institutions, the promoting committee, the cultural system, the business world, and civil society, reflecting a candidacy built in a participatory and collective manner.
The hearing at the Ministry is not only a formal presentation of a dossier, but also the sharing of a vision built through a widespread process of listening and discussion with the cultural, associative, entrepreneurial, and social fabric of the territory. A collective effort that has transformed the candidacy into an already active process of participation and citizenship.
The “Radici al futuro” (Roots to the Future) project, which gives the candidacy its title, is based on one key word: welcoming. Welcoming as a civic responsibility, as the ability to preserve the past, interpret the present, and plan for a cultural future. It means valuing one’s identity in order to generate relationships, develop practices, and build alliances.
Gravina thus proposes an idea of culture that is neither ephemeral nor elitist, but rooted in the community and oriented towards sustainable development. A culture that arises from listening and translates into concrete projects, with the aim of intertwining heritage, innovation, and active participation.
The very conformation of the city, which finds expression in the rocky landscape, the hypogea, the architecture carved into the stone, and the iconic Aqueduct Bridge, tells a story of welcome and protection: a territory designed to contain, connect, and transform. From this identity takes shape a cultural proposal that looks to the South and the Mediterranean not as margins, but as a hinge of connection and dialogue.
The meeting on February 27 represents a decisive step in the candidacy process, but also the evolution of a shared effort that has already set in motion energy, relationships, and plans.
