Venice: European Capital of Culture in 2019?

Preparations are in full swing: Will the lagoon city of Venice become European Capital of Culture in 2019? Last week in Venice, an important step was taken in the bid by the regions in northeastern Italy to become European Capital of Culture 2019.

A working group for the bid was established in Venice together with Christian Tommasini, the Italian Councillor for Culture. The group began its work this week. Representatives from Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Trentino, South Tyrol, Veneto and Venice are represented in the working group. It is now up to them to set the bid for Capital of Culture in motion and develop it. Establishing a working group makes sense, since agreements must first be reached among the participating institutions and organizations. These agreements will then serve as the basis for a joint bid.

The working group is following a tight schedule. Its first meeting took place last Monday. During the initial discussions, Venice Mayor Orsoni pledged that Venice would lead the bid to become European Capital of Culture 2019. Italian Councillor for Culture Tommasini told the press: “For all the cities and regions involved between Bolzano and Udine, the bid is a unique opportunity.”

The northeastern regions of Italy, with Venice at the forefront, have a good chance of successfully putting together a bid to become European Capital of Culture in 2019. Among the other culturally and historically rich regions and cities in northeastern Italy, Venice is surely the applicants’ greatest asset—for where else, if not in Venice, was European art and cultural history made?