During his visit to Madrid for the Italy-Spain Business Forum, Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani visited the Italian Cultural Institute in the Spanish capital, accompanied by the Ambassador of Italy to Spain, Giuseppe Buccino, and the Institute’s Director, Elena Fontanella.
Located on the central Calle Mayor, at the Palacio de Abrantes, the Institute is a key hub within the city’s vast and vibrant cultural network and that of the wider region, helping to promote Italian identity and creativity. As an ideal venue for encounters and dialogue between Italy and Spain, the Institute promotes numerous artistic, musical and academic collaborations.
Concerts, exhibitions, performances, festivals and film festivals, literary events, conferences and workshops are just some of the activities organised by the Institute – including those aimed at young people – to introduce people to Italian culture and bring it to life in Spain. The Institute also offers Italian language courses for all levels.
Among this year’s events are the Poetry Festival dedicated to the ‘Canticle of the Creatures’, Design Week in collaboration with the ADI Museum, and Contemporary Art Week organised with ARCO (a major art fair in Spain). As part of ‘Veranos de la Villa’, the city of Madrid’s summer festival, the Institute presents ‘Taranta Gitana’ featuring Ambrogio Sparagna’s Italian Orchestra and the Gipsy Kings Legend in a fusion of pizzica and flamenco rhythms. The autumn season will open with the ‘Italia di Moda’ photo exhibition, followed by the first major event in Spain dedicated to ceramic art, featuring an exhibition curated by Enzo Biffi Gentile and organised in collaboration with the Associazione italiana Città della Ceramica. The season will continue with the Week of the Italian Language, dedicated to Pinocchio and organised in collaboration with the Collodi Foundation, before concluding with the eagerly awaited Madrid Italian Film Festival, which is now in its 19th year.
The directors of the Italian Cultural Institutes around the world will meet in Verona from 20 to 23 July for their annual Conference.
