Spoleto Festival at the European Parliament. Yesterday the meeting with President Roberta Metsola

It was presented, last night to Brussels, at the European Parliament, the 66th edition of Festival dei Due Mondi. The meeting, sponsored by MEPs Camilla Laureti and Massimiliano Smeriglio of the S&D Group, was attended by European Parliament Vice-President Pina Picierno and MEP João Albuquerque. Before the presentation, President Roberta Metsola met with the Festival delegation composed of the Mayor of Spoleto and President of the Foundation, Andrea Sisti, the artistic director, Monique Veaute, and the administrative director, Paola Macchi.

"A special thanks goes to European MP Camilla Laureti," said artistic director Monique Veaute, "who made this meeting possible and supported the Festival and the city of Spoleto in such a prestigious institutional venue. An important occasion that from on the one hand confirms the international interest in one of the oldest and most important Italian cultural events, and on the other opens new relationships for the development of projects also through the cultural programs of the European Community. A way to safeguard, develop and promote cultural and linguistic diversity and cultural heritage, strengthen the competitiveness and economic potential of the cultural and creative sectors. When we talk about Festival dei Due Mondi, we inevitably refer to art, music, theater, culture, entertainment, but it is the ability to bring these arts into dialogue that makes the Festival a dynamic and constantly evolving reality. The European dimension of relationships and dialogue between cultural institutions is at the heart of my vision for the Festival and finds shape in a network of transnational collaborations. The wide participation to this meeting from by observers and partners is confirmation that working together produces good fruit."

The Honorable Camilla Laureti said, "The contamination between the art and culture of peoples, the true DNA of Festival dei Due Mondi, is a contribution to peace that, especially today, we need. Europe was born from this dream. So, what better place than the European Parliament to present the Festival? This 66th edition, thanks to artistic director Monique Veaute, is characterized by environmental and social sustainability. Art in all the forms provided by the many initiatives in the program, in fact, enters society, facing its challenges and contradictions. I'm thinking of the meeting between actors and inmates of the #SineNomine company from Spoleto prison or the confrontation between choreographers, directors, art directors, writers on female protagonism in world art. Finally, the Festival's international stature has also made it a valuable driver of growth for Spoleto, the inland areas, and Umbria. A thought to maestro Giorgio Ferrara for his invaluable efforts, because he has contributed to to making international this event that, as he claimed, from Festival dei Due Mondi has become the stage of the world."

For Mayor Andrea Sisti, "When Maestro Gian Carlo Menotti conceived, back in 1958, the Festival dei Due Mondi making Spoleto the iconic place for international culture and art that we all know today, he did it with the precise will to create a space for contamination and knowledge, for dialogue and union among the different cultures of the world. Presenting the 66th edition at the European Parliament together with artistic director Monique Veaute, doing so in this place that represents the sublimation of the concept of democracy in our continent, means affirming once again the original spirit of the Festival, reaffirming the disruptive force of culture in the relationship between peoples, relaunching a message of union and brotherhood in Europe and the world. I thank MEPs Camilla Laureti and Massimiliano Smeriglio for organizing this meeting and the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, Vice-President Pina Picierno and MEP João Albuquerque for sharing the spirit and vision."