Some days ago, the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella, officially kicked off the year of Parma as the Italian Capital of Culture. This symbolic title refers to a city designated by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage that — for a period of one year — is given a chance to showcase its cultural life and cultural development.

Conceived also as a means of bringing Italians closer together, the Italian Capital of Culture was launched in 2014 by the same Ministry of Cultural Heritage on the ground of a European Parliament’s decision. Since then, the initiative has become more and more successful across the country and has a growing cultural and socio-economic impact on the numerous visitors it attracts every year.