Culture

Oscar winner Dante Ferretti for Ancona Italian Capital of Culture 2028

The maestro signs the artistic direction of the museum of the civilisation of the Adriatic Sea. Eighty projects in the dossier

by Patrizia Maciocchi

28 October 2025

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

The Museum of the Civilisation of the Adriatic Sea
Eighty projects in the dossier "Ancona. This Now"
The Cardeto and Conero Parks

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

"Ancona is marvellous, my career began here, I shot my first two films here: "The Prisoners of Devil's Island" and "The Jailer of the Seas", then with Fellini, we were inspired by Ancona for "And the Ship Sails On" in 1983. Now we are working on a great project, I want to be a testimonial of the beauty of my region". The presentation of Ancona Capital of Culture 2028 has an exceptional godfather: three-time Oscar winner Dante Ferretti for set design, who took home the legendary Academy Award of merit statuette for "The Aviator" 2005, "Sweeney Todd" 2008 and "Hugo Cabret" 2012.

The Adriatic Sea Civilisation Museum

The master from the Marche region is the artistic director of the museum of the civilisation of the Adriatic Sea, an innovative concept, unique at international level, that connects the narration of the maritime dimension with its naturalistic, historical, social, economic and cultural contents to the celebration of its art, cinema, which more than any other has contributed to creating and reconstructing images and visions of the Adriatic Sea over the past centuries and today. One of the key projects in the candidacy dossier for Ancona's candidacy as Italian Capital of Culture 2028, which bases its guidelines on the age-old relationship between the sea and the city and which finds in culture the heart of a sustainable and innovative programme of urban, social and economic regeneration.

Eighty projects in the dossier 'Ancona. This Now'

Alla gara, che se vinta potrà contare per festeggiare sulla voce di Andrea Bocelli, Ancona si presenta con 80 progetti che puntano ad una valorizzazione a 360 gradi del grande patrimonio culturale della regione in cui è nato Giacomo Leopardi. Cultura ma non solo. Il dossier, dal titolo “Ancona. Questo Adesso” guarda allo sviluppo sostenibile, alla rigenerazione urbana, sociale e turistica, come spiega il sindaco Daniele Silvietti. “Ancona è una città di mare e di frontiera che ha forgiato la sua identità sull'incontro tra civiltà - ricorda il primo cittadino - il suo porto naturale l'ha resa per secoli crocevia verso l'Oriente e con le vie che conducono al cuore dell'Europa, oggi come ieri, ponte tra i Balcani e il Mediterraneo, la città riveste un ruolo di epicentro culturale ed economico dell'Adriatico. Con adesioni importanti da città come Spalato, Dubrovnik, Zara a cui si è aggiunta Venezia, il dossier presenta Ancona - conclude Silvietti - come hub

The Cardeto and Conero Parks

The identity trait of Ancona as a city of sea and port is now joined by that of a city-park. With the Cardeto Urban Park overlooking the sea and the Conero Regional Park on its way to becoming a National Park, Ancona is a city in transformation, to become more and more a symbol of a sustainable balance between nature, landscape and art.

Central to the programme is cultural welfare with a focus on inclusion. The right to accessible and inclusive use becomes the guiding principle of every cultural experience thanks to the guidance of the Omero State Tactile Museum in Ancona, an international excellence in the field.

The dossier, under the creative direction of Anghela Alò, internationally renowned creative director, (Expo 2030, FIFA World Cup 2022 in Doha) contains more than eighty original and site-specific projects, presented and curated by prestigious artistic directors, first and foremost Dante Ferretti and, among others, Francesco de Melis, Enrico Maria Dal Pozzolo, Marco Ansaldo, Gabriele Simongini, Rachele Dubbini, Gabriele Tinti, Quiet Ensemble, plus the presence of Abel Ferrara, together with the artistic directors of festivals and seasons of entertainment whose work has always enriched Ancona's creative research path, oriented for 2028 to the theme of the sea.

Culture Councillor Marta Paraventi is betting on a common thread that increasingly unites the Adriatic territories with Europe: "It is a cultural declaration that unites identity and the future to strengthen ties with the Adriatic territories and with European networks, enhancing common roots and the historical, artistic, natural and urban heritage," the councillor explained. "It is a city of extraordinary beauty in transformation, where the material and immaterial heritage - stones, streets, monuments, memories - are transformed into a collective feeling to be preserved and relaunched as a promise of the future, in a present that becomes momentum, transformation and shared horizon.

The candidacy document is promoted by the Municipality of Ancona, the Marche Polytechnic University, the Marche Region, ANCI Marche, and institutional stakeholders such as the Archdiocese of Ancona-Osimo, the Port Authority of the Adriatic Sea System, the Marche Chamber of Commerce, Confindustria Province of Ancona, the FAIC - Federation of Adriatic Ionian Cities, the Marche Culture Foundation, the Conero Regional Park, the Permanent Secretariat of the Adriatic Ionian Initiative, and the Conero Riviera.