Procida was named Italian Capital of Culture 2022. An important cultural recognition. A lot of opportunities and special events to appreciate even more the island.
"An island, if it is big enough, is no better than a continent. It has to be really quite small, before it feels like an island; and this story will show how tiny it has to be, before you can presume to fill it with your own personality."
Procida won: it was named Italian Capital of Culture 2022
On Monday 18th January 2021, Procida was named "Italian Capital of Culture 2022".
The Italian Capital of Culture is an initiative launched by Law Decree no. 83 of 31st May 2014, for the protection of cultural heritage, the development of culture and the relaunch of tourism.
Procida was the winner, chosen among ten finalists: Ancona, Bari, Cerveteri (Rome), L’Aquila, Pieve di Soligo and the Terre Alte della Marca Trevigiana, Taranto, Trapani, Verbania and Volterra.
In two days the whole world talked about Procida: from Repubblica to Sole24 ore, from Huffingtonpost to Forbes.
The wonder, the joy, the excitement of choosing this small island has influenced everyone. First of all the Procidans, then the nearby islands, then the whole region up to the whole world.
The idea that a small island can become such a high-level cultural center is fascinating. Imagining it on an international stage with an extraordinary scenography arouses strong emotions, harmony, passion. It improves the community membership and attracts like a magnet.
Procida is the fifth Italian Capital of Culture.
Procida is not only fascinating for its landscape, its being an island, its being a small community.
The Cultural Program
Giulia D’Argenio writes on Il Mattino di Napoli: "Procida would be a capital of subversive culture because it is able to question (subvert) our conception of space and the connections that structure it. It would question imaginaries, reveal complexities not reasoned up to now and place the crucial challenge of sustainability on the plate. "
As it can be seen from the procida2022.com website, the event management and administrations were exceptional in presenting a very valid program with 44 cultural projects, 330 days of programming, 240 artists, 40 original works, 8 regenerated cultural spaces.
Five sections of the program: Procida Invents, Procida inspires, Procida includes, Procida innovates, Procida learns.
Let's start from this section's names to examine every single aspect!
The sea is an indifferent brightness.
All the Sections of the Program
Procida invents.
It is the section of Projects that plans truly artistic processes and events: exhibitions, cinema, performances and site-specific works.
Procida is a small island: its tranquility, the serenity inspired by its colors, the freedom inspired by the sea create an interior space suitable for creation.
Procida inspires.
Projects that nominate the island as a source of inspiration, both as a real place and as an imaginary space.
As soon as you arrive in Procida, the colors conquer you. Just go for a walk to Terra Murata to fall in love or even a simple walk on the harbor. Procida inspires poetry, passion, rebellion, a sense of freedom.
Procida includes.
Social inclusion projects that use the languages of art as tools for the expression of the individual placed in relation to the community.
Procida obviously also includes the traveler. The attentive traveler immediately discovers the soul of Procida and then probably finds or rediscovers his own as well.
Procida innovates.
Projects that promote the relationship between culture and innovation, fostering moments of confrontation between the national community of innovators and the local community, in a path of strategic rethinking of their cultural heritage.
Procida learns.
Projects that promote the strengthening of an educating community, through the creation of open alliances that aim to involve all territorial subjects from public to private social We now add our considerations to describe Procida to those who do not know it.
Procida excites
Take the ferry from Naples or Pozzuoli: the journey will already be an emotion. If it is the first trip, the ferry is preferable to the hydrofoil so it will be possible to enjoy the wonderful view of the Gulf of Naples: from Posillipo to Capo Miseno, each piece of coast will prepare for arrival in Procida.
We will pass from the green and blue of the coast, the sky and the sea to a colorful scenery within the port of Procida.
Once arrived, it's easy to get excited. Rent a bike or a scooter and take a ride. A trip to Chiaiolella for a swim with view of Ischia and Vivara. Then it will be time to do down Corricella and stay there to enjoy a typical lunch and a chat with the fishermen. A selfie from Terra Murata and you can feel if you will fall in love with the island.
Ah, I wouldn't ask to be a seagull or a dolphin; I'd be content to be a rockfish, which is the ugliest fish in the sea, just to find myself there, joking in that water.
Procida disintoxicates
The island disintoxicates thanks to its many quiet places: a corner, a terrace, a small beach.
Procida does it in different ways.
A nature walk in Vivara catapults you out of the time.
The lack of night worldliness creates a void that leads to reflect and cut the unnecessary.
A canoe ride or a dive can make you forget everything that needs to be forgotten.
Procida tells
Fishermen tell the story of Procida with traditions, nets, sea stories as well as sailors and seafarers (many in Procida).
The Abbey of San Michele preserves many elements that "tell" about many stories of the sea. In particular, there are the "ex voto": paintings of boats in difficulty with a light and the image of St. Michael the Archangel who saves them from the storm.
The Bourbon prison, once a Castle, became a "penal bath" in 1815 and can tell us many stories with atrocious suffering. In fact, life in prison was very hard, made up of abuses and violence.
An illustrious prisoner such as Duke Sigismondo Castromediano describes the prison as "a circle of horror within a circle of beauty".
Many writers have lived Procida and written about the island. From Elsa Morante with "L'Isola di Arturo" to "Graziella" of Alphonse de Lamartine.
Alphonse de Lamartine, a young French writer, arrived in Procida during his Grand Tour: he falls in love with Graziella, leaves and promises to return. Unfortunately, he does not keep his promise and the girl falls ill and dies of it. Graziella becomes a novel. Furthermore, every year the story is told again through a great popular event in Procida, the “Sagra della Graziella”.
Procida enchants
Through the cinema, Procida has enchanted many people. Here are the most important films set on the siland of Procida: "The Island of Arturo", "Il Postino", "Francesca e Nunziata" and "The talent of Mr. Ripley".
