Italian Culture Minister Says Italy, Russia Must Expand Cultural Ties As Proud Equals

Italy and Russia are equal and proud countries, something which has allowed them to form a close cultural relationship, and the two nations need to move even further and expand the boundaries of their partnership in this area, Italian Culture Minister Alberto Bonisoli told Sputnik in an interview.

ST. PETERSBURG (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th November, 2018) Italy and Russia are equal and proud countries, something which has allowed them to form a close cultural relationship, and the two nations need to move even further and expand the boundaries of their partnership in this area, Italian Culture Minister Alberto Bonisoli told Sputnik in an interview.

"I think that if you are extremely proud of your identity, the relations with the others are simply better. Therefore, what we have between us are the relations of equal and proud states. If you are weak and insecure, it will not work," Bonisoli said on the sidelines of the 7th St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum.

The international forum started in Russia's St. Petersburg on Thursday and came to an end on Saturday. The forum serves as a platform for hosting numerous cultural events and expanding business cooperation in the field.

ON PROMOTING ITALIAN CULTURE IN RUSSIA

Several Italy-oriented events were held in St. Petersburg as part of the cultural forum, and the minister noted that he would like to organize even more exhibitions and events in Russia in the near future, especially ones showcasing modern Italian art. Bonisoli also said that the two countries had to try and develop cooperation in new cultural areas.

"I will be eager to bring to Russia the Italian modern art. Italy is well known for its traditional art of Renaissance and the middle Age. I will be very motivated towards showing to the Russian people very last artistic productions. The other thing that I would do is to celebrate the history of the Italian-Russian cooperation in the past. We do cooperation in ballet, in symphonic area but we need to do something else, to widen the horizons a little bit," Bonisoli added.

ON RUSSIAN SEASONS CULTURAL FESTIVAL IN ITALY

This year, Italy held the Russian Seasons festival, dedicated to promoting Russian culture worldwide. The festival's program included visits of famous Russian music and ballet ensembles along with exhibits showcasing collections from Russian museums, among other things. Speaking about the results of the festival, the minister said that the event had been remarkable both in terms of its scale and the events' quality.

"I want to mention two things. The first one is the numbers. I do not remember a cooperation project which consisted of so many events, touched so many people and was so widespread in geography. It was very widely spread on the Italian territory. Over 40 cities participated in it and it allowed the festival to expose to the Russian culture a large and diverse number of people," the minister said.

Bonisoli added that the closing ceremony of the Russian Seasons in Italy had been attended by a large number of people, including those representing prestigious institutions from both sides, which was a testament to the quality of the events.

"When we talk about quality � here I can give you my personal experience ... The fact that there were so many people, who represent different high-profile institutions from Italy and Russia, means that we are glad and proud of being a part of this successful project that adds value to both counties," Bonisoli said.

According to the minister, Russia chose a great format for promoting a positive image of itself worldwide, namely by hosting Russian Seasons annually across different countries.

"I simply find it as the best practice in terms of format, in terms of its systematic character. If you do it just for one year, it is also fine but your way is more productive. You do it year after year in different countries, different cultures and for different people," the minister said.

Speaking about the possibility of holding an Italian analogue of Russian Seasons, the minister noted that Italy had already been organizing similar cultural events in Russia that were held regularly but did not copy the format of Russian Seasons because, according to Bonisoli, what worked best for one country did not necessarily work for another.

"What I like specifically about the Russian Seasons is the project's systematic character. What we do [is that] every second year we choose a town that becomes a temporary Italian Capital of Culture. With regard to the concept you have mentioned in your question, maybe we should add a special guest country every year. But again, I need to use my format. If I use the Russian format, it will not work and the same is for you," Bonisoli concluded.

ON THE ROLE OF LANGUAGE IN PROMOTION OF CULTURE

A country's culture is inalienable from its language and literature, and despite the fact that English is believed to be the future of communication, it is important for countries to promote their mother tongues across the world, the minister noted.

"A language is one of the main pillars of our cultural architecture. It means that whatever you do in terms of culture, it always has somewhere, somehow references to our language, literature ... I do believe that my culture is not necessarily related to English. It is much wider and much deeper and I need to remember my mother tongue as the language that describes the essence of my culture. This is the language that a country has to promote and widespread and arrange events allowing to share it and expose it worldwide," the culture minister said.

According to Bonisoli, he would like to be exposed more to modern Russian literature than classical writings because the latter was already so widespread.

The minister also noted that culture in general was not just about aesthetic pleasure, but that it also implied the need to support educational institutions which, at the end of the day, give society its musicians, performers, actors and other artists.