City of Matera, Italy Named European Capital of Culture 2019

The city of Matera — located in the southern Italian region of Basilicata — will be named the European Capital of Culture in 2019. The designation, conferred as part of the “European Capitals of Culture Initiative," aims, according to the European Commission’s “Creative Europe” website, to “highlight the richness and diversity of cultures in Europe; celebrate the cultural features Europeans share; increase European citizens' sense of belonging to a common cultural area; and foster the contribution of culture to the development of cities.”

Dr. Luca Cottini, an Associate Professor of Italian Studies at Villanova University is well acquainted with the history and allure of Matera.

“Basilicata is truly an interesting case, for a variety of reasons - diversity of landscapes, Greek temples, caves, mountains - but also for its ‘hiddenness’ which makes it a mystery also for Italians,” says Cottini. “It presents some sort of pre-historic or pre-Christian angle of Italy, as writer Carlo Levi would put it. He was sent there by Mussolini in confinement for being an anti-fascist.”

Cottini continued, “The director Pier Paolo Pasolini used the landscape of Matera (with its lunar, prehistorical feel) to shoot the scene of the crucifixion in his 1964 movie, ‘The Gospel According to Matthew’."

Basilicata, the professor says, came to the attention of the government in the post-WWII years when it seemed like  oil deposits might lie beneath its ethereal landscape.

“But, the illusion didn¹t last long, and the region fell back into oblivion again, also for Italians,” says Cottini.

 To speak with Cottini e-mail mediaexperts@villanova.edu or call 610-519-5152.