Italian Villages to Shine in EU Blue: A Celebration of Europe Day

For the first time since the establishment of Europe Day, three historic Italian villages will be illuminated in blue on May 9th, on the occasion of the event, whose program was presented today at a press conference in Rome. The villages will be Rosignano Monferrato in Piedmont, Otricoli in Umbria, and Gerace in Calabria, beneficiaries of the Attractiveness of Villages PNRR funding line A and line B. This result is the fruit of the commitment of the Civita Association, in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and Enel, to underline the historical, cultural, and social value of Italian villages. The Civita Association, which has been involved in the promotion and enhancement of cultural heritage for 35 years, is indeed among the protagonists of Europe Day promoted by the Office in Italy of the European Parliament and the Representation of the European Commission in Italy. On the occasion of this event, the Civita Association intends to underline, through the illumination with the colors of the EU of monuments and historical-cultural sites, the importance of culture as an identifying and founding element of Europe. During the press conference, the Civita Association launched, in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and ANCI, an invitation to all Italian municipalities to illuminate their iconic places in blue and to send photos to participate in the communication initiatives on the social channels of the Parliament and the European Commission. A way to network and thus testify to the great historical heritage constituted by the Italian municipalities, so rich in history, culture, traditions. An invitation to network and reaffirm their value in view of Europe Day on May 9th. "The link between Europe and the Italian villages is underlined not only by the allocations linked to the PNRR and other community funding lines but also by the fact that this widespread heritage contains a fundamental part of the historical and cultural identity of the continent. This is why we strongly wanted to make the villages protagonists of Europe Day - said Simonetta Giordani, General Secretary of the Civita Association - In this ambitious challenge for the enhancement of historic Italian villages, we have involved companies and we are proud of the closeness shown by the European institutions"