The Embassy of Italy in Turkey has taken part in “Baskent Kultur Yolu”, the first edition of a new cultural event in the Turkish capital. The event provided two weeks of top-level entertainment events, concerts and exhibitions. At the opening, the Italian Embassy organised a flag-waving performance by the Florentine “bandierai”. In three central points of Ankara they celebrated the friendship between Italy and Turkey with the flags of the two countries, in a cultural exchange that proved highly popular.
On 1 June the Embassy organised a jazz concert featuring musicians from the two countries, who played together melding their musical styles in a shared Mediterranean culture. The event was sponsored by Italian and Turkish businesses. Over the new few days the Embassy organised a total of five concerts in the city’s main parks and cultural centres.
Art too had its place, with the Italian artist Lithian Ricci displaying three of her works in a collective exhibition by women artists. The show celebrated the beauty of textile art, including as a form of female empowerment, thanks to the collaboration with local Turkish weavers’ workshops.
As part of the “Baskent Kultur Yolu” events the Italian Embassy also hosted the opening of the International Literature Festival in Palazzo di Venezia in Istanbul. The Festival opened with addresses by the Ambassador of Italy to Turkey, Giorgio Marrapodi, and the Deputy Culture Minister, Ahmet Demircan.
