At the first Italy Edition of Travel Hashtag in Matera, Mayor Antonio Nicoletti outlined how tourism is experience, culture and innovation.
Matera invites visitors to slow down
The mayor’s clear strategy for tourism in the city in the coming years is to consolidate the legacy of 2019, transforming it into a stable, international and market-oriented project. “Matera has a unique relationship with time, an element that directly influences the visitor's experience. In an era of fast and fragmented travel, the city invites visitors to slow down and immerse themselves in its layered history, not only as a backdrop, but as part of the experience itself,” said the mayor.
Mediterranean Capital of Culture and Dialogue 2026
After its experience as European Capital of Culture in 2019, Matera is preparing for 2026 as Mediterranean Capital of Culture and Dialogue. But, the mayor warns, the title is not the goal: “It is the message of a city that is planning itself”. The idea is to go beyond the isolated event and build a concrete legacy: “It is not a project that starts and ends in 2026, it must have a future life.”
Matera’s House of Emerging Technologies
The title chosen for 2026, “Terre Immerse” (Immersed Lands), broadens the vision of the Mediterranean to include inland areas and their cultural stratifications. Not just coastlines, but territories with common roots in symbolic cities such as Jerusalem, Athens and Rome. Alongside the cultural dimension, Nicoletti mentioned the House of Emerging Technologies, a hub that works on advanced technologies such as 5G networks, artificial intelligence, blockchain and quantum communication, applying them to tourism and communication. In practice, it is a place where innovation and culture come together to create new services, experiences and opportunities for the city.
“A destination…with integration between culture and innovation”
Collaboration with the Italian Space Agency and the European Space Agency also strengthen Matera in the business, MICE and educational segments. “Matera does not want to replicate 2019, but make 2026 a structural lever for growth. For the trade this means a destination with a stable vision, long-term planning and integration between culture and innovation. 2026 will not be a point of arrival, but the beginning of a new phase of international positioning,” concluded the mayor.
