“Italy, Cultures, the Mediterranean” in Tunisia

As part of the «Italy, Cultures, the Mediterranean » cultural programme, Eugenio Bennato is en route towards the Southern Mediterranean. On 4 March, he will be at the Acropolium of Carthage (Tunis) for the first stop of his “Da che sud è sud” (« For as long as South has been South ») international tour, which will then take him to Morocco, Algeria, Egypt and in other Mediterranean Countries, in the rest of Africa and ultimately also in Latin America. In the music from his new album ‘Da che sud è sud’, which was released last October, Bennato – who will be performing with a six-man band – tackles strongly topical issues such as the new generation’s wish to overcome the borders imposed at present, travel, get to know each other, express one’s feelings and build a life of peace and of a creative coexistence between different cultures and ethnic groups, also through a sound that merges instruments, tones, languages and voices coming from the souths of the whole world. Bennato explained: “Every piece has its own story and identity, but they are all united by the presence of a voice, alongside my narrator’s voice, echoing the resonance of a different language, from French, to English, Spanish and Brazilian and of course to Arabic, with a strong sense of rhythm, evoking movements of the present.” Eugenio Bennato’s international tour is a circular event of the integrated promotional cultural programme «Italy, Cultures, the Mediterranean » that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation is organising through its diplomatic and consular network in the Countries of the Middle East and North Africa in 2018. Through his music, Eugenio Bennato will bear witness to the Mediterranean identity, which can be acquired through culture, mutual knowledge and dialogue. After Tunis, Bennato will be in Rabat on 7 March, in Tangier on 9 March, in Algiers on 13 March, in Oran on 15 March, and in Cairo on 18 March. The “Da che sud è sud” tour will be organised by the Italian Cultural Institutes in Tunis, Rabat, Algiers and Cairo.