Italy's Capital of Culture 2023 are the cities of Bergamo and Brescia, and an exciting programme of 100 major projects plus a further 500 initiatives will reverberate from them over the course of the year.
These include over 90 projects funded for €3.5 million by the Cariplo Foundation together with the Bergamo and Brescia Community Foundations.
Routes connecting UNESCO sites
The cities are some 50 kilometres north-east of Milan about 40 minutes by road one from the other, and connecting routes have been set up between the two cities for new models of sustainable tourism and for the enhancement of their historical and artistic heritage. These include the pedestrian Two Sister’s Road, a 75km cycle route connecting the UNESCO sites in the two cities that consist of 800 properties of historical and cultural interest, as well as three regional parks.
Music with leading Italian and international artists
The calendar of events will start with a grand opening ceremony on 20, 21 and 22 January 2023, spread over the two cities. Brescia, from 10 to 19 February, and Bergamo from 17 to 26 February will become open-air art galleries featuring prestigious national and international artists. The Festival of Lights will enhance some of the symbolic places of the Capital of Culture: in Brescia the Castle and the archaeological area, in Bergamo a route between the upper and lower parts of the city.
Piano and jazz festivals
Many other important events will involve both cities including Brescia and Bergamo’s International Piano Festival and the Città del Jazz project, organised by the Donizetti Theatre Foundation and the Teatro Grande Foundation. Take Off in Brescia and Panorchestra in Bergamo will see the involvement of young jazz musicians from Brescia and Bergamo in collaboration with national and international soloists.
Two cities off the beaten tourist track
During this extraordinary year Bergamo and Brescia will help visitors to explore what they have never seen before, as these are two cities removed from the bubble of Italy’s usual tourist destinations. But they are no less attractive for this. Visitors will discover millenary traditions and innovations, majestic natural landscapes and historical monuments, great food and wines and much more. It is all just waiting to be discovered.
