The delegation's visit followed the meeting held in Warsaw last January, dedicated to Polish cities interested in applying for the Ecoc title, which was attended by the Director of the Basilicata 2019 Foundation, Giovanni Padula, who was called to talk about the Matera 2019 experience and the new challenges awaiting the Foundation.

During the two days in Matera, the delegation comprised Monika Smoleń-Bromska, Director of the Department for European Affairs and Funds, Monika Krzyżanowska-Piróg, Head of the Investment Projects Division, Joanna Gęziak-Kusio, Chief Specialist of the Promotion Team, Tomasz Skorupski, Chief Specialist of the Investment Projects Division, Andrzej Podściański, Chief Specialist of the International Projects and European Affairs Division, met with some of the project leaders of the Lucanian creative scene who co-produced the Matera European Capital of Culture 2019 projects and who are still working on the legacy of these projects.

In particular, the group was able to experience the 'Silent City experience' project, a tour of creativity and imagination, dedicated to the city of Matera, its history and its inhabitants, born from the community opera project 'Silent City' by the Compagnia Teatrale l'Albero, and take an emotional tour of the 'La Secretissima Camera de Lo Core' produced by the Teatro dei Sassi, which tells the story of the city through the emotions of its citizens. The delegation also visited the Ridola and Lanfranchi venues of the Matera National Museum, which in 2019 hosted the major exhibitions of the European Capital of Culture.  A moment of discussion on the themes of community involvement and the strengthening of the skills of creatives in the Matera 2019 journey took place with the teams of the association Casa Netural and the IAC - Integrated Arts Centre. The meeting with the founder of the newspaper Ecocnews, Serafino Paternoster, was instrumental in getting to know this project dedicated to the European and national Capitals of Culture, born from the communication experience of Matera 2019.

“It was a nice opportunity,- says Paternoster - to present our online newspaper, which, day after day, is becoming more and more an important reference point for knowing what is happening in the cultural field in Europe and a support for the communication of the European Capitals of Culture, the national Capitals of Culture and the candidate cities for these competitions”.

Closing the days was a meeting with the Director of the Matera Basilicata 2019 Foundation, Giovanni Padula, and the head of cultural planning and networking, Rita Orlando, during which the strategic role played by the Ministry of Culture in the Ecoc process, the need to work on the legacy well before the end of the title year and to collect the relevant data in itinere for an effective monitoring, the limits of bureaucracy and at the same time the importance of training public officials to manage this complex process were discussed.

"The delegation," emphasises Director Giovanni Padula, "appreciated the investment in skills made during the Matera 2019 process, transferred by the direct voice of the Lucanian project leaders, and touched upon the co-creation process put in place for the European Capital of Culture, along with the effects that this process of cultural innovation can produce. We also transferred to the delegation the lessons we are learning in order to tackle the transition from the title management phase to the legacy management phase, in which the search for new funding and the development of new projects is crucial'.