The 16 cities submitted the expression of interest to win the title: now their application dossier will be evaluated by a Jury of experts who will examine them and select a maximum of ten finalists by December 15, 2023. The application dossier will have to contain the cultural project conceived and elaborated by the cities, lasting one year, with a timetable and list of individual planned activities, as well as the assessment of economic and financial sustainability.

The ten finalist cities will be convened for public hearings by March 14, 2024 to present and elaborate on their project to the Jury, while the proclamation of the Italian Capital of Culture will be held by March 29, 2024.

Here is the list: Agnone (Isernia, Molise), Agnone 2026: Fire, inside. Margin in the center; Alba (Cuneo, Piedmont), To live is to begin. Langhe and Roero, another story; Bernalda (Matera, Basilicata), Listening. World, Knowledge and Mystery; Cosenza (Calabria), From Dreams to Signs; Gaeta (Latina, Lazio), Blue, the Climate of Culture; L'Aquila (Abruzzo), L'Aquila Città Multiverso; Latina (Lazio), Latina bonum facere; Lucca (Tuscany), Lucca 2026. Inhabiting Culture; Lucera (Foggia, Apulia), Lucera 2026: Crossroads of Peoples and Cultures; Maratea (Potenza, Basilicata), Maratea 2026. The Future Starts from a Millennial Journey; Marcellinara (Catanzaro, Calabria), The Meeting at Italy's Narrowest Point; Rimini (Emilia Romagna), Come Beyond. The future here and now; Treviso (Veneto), The Senses of Culture; Unione dei Comuni Terre dell'Olio e del Sagrantino (Perugia, Umbria), CulturaXBenessere; Unione dei Comuni Valdichiana Senese (Siena, Tuscany), Valdichiana 2026, seed of Italy; Unione Montana dei Comuni della Valtiberina Toscana (Arezzo, Tuscany), The Canticle of Cultures.