A choice that surprised many, but Pistoia is the Italian capital of culture 2017. A city of Roman origin, sheltered to the north by mountains and nestled amid the greenery of its nurseries, Pistoia has been awarded this prestigious recognition not only for the richness of its artistic and architectural heritage, but also for the commitment with which the city administration promotes and supports projects and initiatives that enhance its identity and traditions. A city that has much to offer, it will have an entire year to make itself known in Italy and abroad.

Read also: 5 luoghi da scoprire a Pistoia, Capitale italiana della cultura 2017

A year for Pistoia, Italian capital of culture 2017

Choosing Pistoia as the Italian capital of culture 2017 appears to be an excellent decision, for many reasons. The local administration has a clear vision: it intends to continue its programme of long-range strategies for coherent, genuine development of the city and its territory, extending beyond 2017. There will be no spectacular events during the year; instead, the qualities and characteristics that have made it precious and distinct from other cities will be brought to light.

Pistoia aspires to be a model medium-sized European city — one that promotes culture and knowledge as tools for social cohesion and drivers of growth, that invests in a green economy and an eco-sustainable lifestyle, and that regenerates public and private heritage through urban renewal schemes.

The words of Mayor Samuele Bertinelli clearly convey the city's best practices: "The municipality of Pistoia ordinarily invests in cultural policies more than double the national average. We are indeed convinced that knowledge and culture are the primary rights of citizenship, the leaven for growth and the formation of free, aware and democratic citizens. In this sense, culture, in all its expressions, represents the source of inspiration for our every administrative action."

Projects and events in Pistoia

One of the city's points of pride is undoubtedly its urban regeneration project. The municipal administration of Pistoia aims to promote more sustainable land use — a fundamental resource both from the standpoint of biodiversity and in terms of the memory of places and the distinctiveness of landscapes, a precious legacy to be passed on intact and alive to future generations. Pistoia boasts vast agricultural areas on the fringes of the historic city, and in the last three years alone, 40,719 sq m of agricultural land and 11,330 sq m of private green space have been recovered, with a total of over five hectares (51,509 square metres) of land saved from development.

The city's best-known festivals will also tie their programmes to the theme of the Capital of Culture: from 6 to 9 April, the fifth edition of Leggere la città will take place, an annual event dedicated to the city and to cities. The 2017 edition will be opened by a lecture from anthropologist Marc Augé and will be dedicated to the theme "Culture is community".

The common thread of the eighth edition of the contemporary anthropology festival Pistoia – Dialoghi sull'uomo, scheduled for 26 to 28 May, will instead be "Culture makes us human. Movements, diversity and exchanges".

As for music, Pistoia Blues will expand its programme throughout the year for the Capital of Culture. An exceptional event will be the concert on 23 February at the Teatro Manzoni featuring a national preview performance by John Mayall, one of the fathers of European blues.

Many other events are scheduled; the dedicated website for Pistoia Italian Capital of Culture 2017 has a section where all events can be browsed.

Pistoia, the nursery province

One of the great resources of Pistoia and its entire province is nursery growing: this is the heart of Italian nursery growing, which was born a century and a half ago in the vegetable gardens within the city walls to produce the fruit plants needed to meet the city's growing demands. Today the province of Pistoia is a European leader: it is a unique territory where plants typical of every region of the world can be found. Ornamental nursery activity is concentrated in the Valle dell'Ombrone pistoiese and covers more than 5,200 hectares, 1,500 businesses and more than 5,500 direct employees. Pistoia's title of Italian Capital of Culture is an opportunity to showcase the importance of the productive and creative reality of the Pistoia nursery sector.