“As of today, another four Italian cities – Alba, Carrara, Pesaro and Milan – have become part of the UNESCO creative cities network (UCCN). It is an important recognition for Italy and evidence of the fact that not only Italy’s cultural heritage but also its creativity represents an essential asset in the image that our County projects abroad, confirming it to be a superpower of Culture,” said the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Angelino Alfano.
The Italian cities designated are Alba for gastronomy; Carrara for craftsmanship; Pesaro for music and Mila for literature. With UNESCO’s designation as creative city for literature, Milan – which is a candidate to host the European Medicines Agency – obtains another important recognition, not only enhancing its visibility at local level but also at international level. “This result confirms our Country’s leading role within the UNESCO,” specified Minister Alfano underscoring that “this recognition compounds Italy’s lead in the world heritage list, which was confirmed by the last listings approved by the Paris-based Organisation.”
The UNESCO creative cities network is a programme launched in 2004 to promote ever-closer cooperation between the cities that, through their creative and cultural industries, promote the sustainable development of local territories and communities. Italy, in addition to the recently designated four cities, already has the following cities listed: Bologna for music; Fabriano for popular crafts and arts; Rome for cinema; Parma for gastronomy and Turin for design. In 2019, Fabriano will host the 13th annual meeting of the UNESCO creative cities network, which will unite in this city of the Marche region all the network member cities from 54 Countries around the world.
