EU Green Capital Valencia will host 2024 edition of European Urban Resilience Forum
Crucial aspects of resilience, sustainable development and recovery will be under the thematic spotlight
Another, though more subtle, example of heritage desecration
A heated public debate has erupted following the projection of American Express and other corporate sponsors’ logos on the facades of the Ponte Vecchio bridge and the Institute of the Innocents in Florence. This happened during the recent F-Light 2021 light festival taking place on 8 and 9 January.
The opinion of the general public was that these acts in essence commercialized the social and artistic side of the event and cheapened the experience and the architectural heritage of the Tuscan city.
As we have recently seen with the case of Scala dei Turchi, Italians can be quite touchy when it comes to messing with their heritage treasures. That also reflects national and socio-cultural pride which seeks a sense of purism from corporate intrusion.
Interestingly enough, that goes even for the football sphere. Whereas, it has become more and more common to see the renaming of other famous European stadiums to reflect their corporate sponsorship, Italians have been loath to take such a step preferring to honour real persons’ legacies. Recent case is the renaming of the Naples’ San Paolo to Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
The public discontent in Florence got so loud that even the city’s mayor Dario Nardella had to comment on it, given that his administration also became target of the critics.
“We will defend ourselves from any complaints with great serenity because we have a clear conscience and because Florence in recent years has grown culturally like never before.
An image with the sponsor's logo, which I consider wrong because it is not suitable for those places, cannot become the pretext for attacking the reputation of a city and of those who manage it with such aggression,” wrote the mayor on his Facebook page.
He explained that action had been taken for such missteps to not occur again in future editions of the light festival, however, he also reminded that the role of private sponsorship in culture cannot be ignored.
He promised that sponsorship advertising will continue but through more traditional media and not as part of the audiovisual creations.
Mr Nardella tried to keep a careful balance between social and corporate interests in ensuring that there is a spirit of collaboration rather than hostility.
“Shocked and horrified,” is how the director of the Uffizi Gallery, Eike Schmidt, described his reaction to the news, as quoted by La Nazione. “The advertising projected on Ponte Vecchio also included a part of the Vasari Corridor. We have never been asked for any authorization, as it is prescribed by law. We would never have approved such contempt of our heritage”.
The city was concerned about street noise and disturbances to residents
This, however, is likely to change soon
Crucial aspects of resilience, sustainable development and recovery will be under the thematic spotlight
This is city twinning for the 21st century
You can find it in the capital Sofia, where it was installed upon the initiative of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
People in both cities got to sit together both in person and virtually
The city was concerned about street noise and disturbances to residents
And the current administration plans to make Jardin del Turia Europe’s largest city green space by extending it to the sea
The aim is to have the public be able to admire the architectural design without distractions
The installation has been thought out with the concept of letting people “talk” to their dearly departed
It’s an urban space that has undergone several large-scale transformations throughout its existence
A US geologist claims to have solved the centuries-old mystery
Urban dwellers across the EU are having a say in making their surroundings friendlier to people and the environment.
Forests in the EU can help green the European construction industry and bolster a continent-wide push for architectural improvements.
Apply by 10 November and do your part for the transformation of European public spaces
Catch up with some recommendations for the 2024 European Capital of Culture programme from the mayor of Tartu
An interview with the ICLEI regional director for Europe аfter the close of COP28
An interview with a member of the No Hate Speech Network team