Agrigento, a hilltop city located on Sicily’s southern coast, was crowned Italy’s Capital of Culture for 2025. Particularly renowned for the Valley of Temples, a vast archaeological area that encompasses the ruins of the ancient Greek city of Akragas. According to Wanted in Rome, the city was originally founded as a Greek colony in the sixth century BC.
Agrigento beat out nine towns and cities that were finalists for the title:
The Italian Capital of Culture initiative was launched in 2014 as a way to recognize the central role culture plays in social and territorial rejuvenation. For one year, recipient cities became the focus for improved cultural heritage and touristic development through numerous projects and events that not only benefit the cities themselves but also their surrounding territories.
The northern Italian cities of Bergamo and Brescia, located approximately an hour northeast of Milan, were crowned the joint Italian Capital of Culture for 2023. The two cities, which were particularly devastated during the first 2020 COVID-19 wave, jointly submitted their candidacy in May 2020 and were awarded the distinction by the Italian Cultural Ministry just a few months after.
The northern city of Parma served as the Capital of Italian Culture for 2020 and 2021 to make up for the disruptive effects of the multiple COVID-19 lockdowns. The 2022 distinction went to the colorful island of Procida, located off the coast of Naples, the first island to be given the award since the initiative’s inauguration.
Asia London Palomba
Asia London Palomba is a trilingual freelance journalist from Rome, Italy. In the past, her work on culture, travel, and history has been published in The Boston Globe, Atlas Obscura, The Christian Science Monitor, and Grub Street, New York Magazine's food section. In her free time, Asia enjoys traveling home to Italy to spend time with family and friends, drinking Hugo Spritzes, and making her nonna's homemade cavatelli.