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September 11, 2019Botta and response between Silvia Barbagallo, artistic director of the Festival of Meetings in Aquila, and the mayor of the city Pierluigi Biondi (FdI). The reason for the clash, the presence on the bill of Roberto Saviano and Zerocalcare.The International Festival of Meetings 2019 is in the program of events financed with 700 thousand euros by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage for the tenth anniversary of the earthquake. The Festival will be managed, as established by the Mibac, by the Abruzzese Symphonic Institution.
"A few weeks after the inauguration, the mayor of L'Aquila, Pierluigi Biondi, shows up to show his intention to condition the operational support of the Municipality by proposing the exclusion of some unwelcome guests, including Roberto Saviano and Zerocalcare, asking me a political balance of the program, with names that he likes, thus practicing a political censorship on cultural addresses - Barbagallo writes - It is the sign of an authoritarian vision of the relationship between politics and culture, an invasion of the field of politics who puts his mouth where he should not, the choice of guests and contents, for an event entirely financed by the Ministry ".
"I said that, given that the Municipality manages the ten-year money from the earthquake, which then supplies them to the Symphonic Institution, the program of events must be agreed with the Municipality - Biondi replies - which is also signed in the minutes of the committee of address also signed by Barbagallo, who, moreover, at the moment I have not yet had the pleasure of knowing. The minimum wage is that you sit with me and reasons on the events: I want a plural and inclusive calendar ". But is it true that Saviano doesn't want to? "I said that you must compare with me: if they want the Municipality to adopt the resolution to disburse the funds, come to see me and think".
The sluice is even tougher: "We do not have a wake-up call and at L'Aquila we have seen too many profiteers of our tragedy: if it finds a way to get paid - from the institution, make the program it wants".