A HARVEST OF CULTURE

Congratulations to Antonello Buscema, Mayor of Modica, Cultural Councillor Annamaria Sammito and everyone involved in the second edition of Modica's Miete Culture, or "Harvest of Culture", a series of cultural events running from mid-June until the end of August.  The Festival has been awarded the Medaglia di Rappresentanza by President Giorgio Napolitano and the organisers say that this recognition has encouraged them to work even harder to make the event a success.

This year, on the tenth anniversary of the inscription of the Val di Noto towns of Caltagirone, Militello in Val di Catania, Catania, Modica, Noto, Palazzolo Acreide, Ragusa and Scicli in the UNESCO World Heritage List, the Festival is paying tribute to the Arab Spring and in particular the Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia. This evening the Tunisian street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi, who set himself alight in 2010 in protest at economic conditions in his country and his own treatment by police and officials, is being honoured in Modica's Palazzo San Domenico, where 200 jasmine plants have been placed along with a ceremonial torch as part of an art installation by the Brazilian artist Marcel Cordeiro.  Mr Bouazizi's sister, representatives from the Tunisian Embassy in Rome and the mayors of the other seven Val di Noto towns are attending the ceremony.

Dance, music, drama and other literary events also form part of the Festival, which was opened last week by the 90-year-old  torinese poet Maria Luisa Spaziani, whose 1970 collection L'occhio del ciclone was dedicated to Sicily.

It is hoped that the President's recognition of the initiative will help this annual Festival to become more widely known on a national level and raise awareness about life in other Mediterranean countries.

Modica's Miete Culture Festival
as depicted at the Infiorata Netina,
 May 2012.