In recent days, we have published the results of a survey of Netherlands cities.

And the experience of Matera, the last Italian city to be European Capital of Culture in 2019, teaches us that cities should start working at least 10 years before the year they are Capital if they want to build a dossier of European dimension that truly involves citizens.

We have already written about Italy, although a small update is now necessary. The city that is currently furthest ahead in the bid is undoubtedly Turin, which has already chosen its logo, the result of a collaboration with schools, and its bid director, Agostino Riitano. Numerous events are already scheduled for the coming weeks to share this journey with the city's residents. After all, Turin is no stranger to such challenges, having undergone a radical transformation from a working-class, industrial city, thanks to the 2006 Winter Olympics and a visionary strategic plan (led by cultural manager Paolo Verri, who later became director of Matera 2019), into a tourist and cultural city: Capital of Enterprise Culture in 2024, European Capital of Smart Tourism for 2025.

The other Italian cities aspiring to win the European title of Capital of Culture can be counted on the fingers of one hand. A little ahead of the others and slightly behind Turin are the city of Norcia with its candidacy called Civitas Appenninica 2033 and the city of Viterbo, which in April this year launched a call to gather the best ideas.

Recently, the city of Trieste has also appeared to be very competitive with a less institutional candidacy than the others, starting from the bottom up. In this case, Hangar Teatri is promoting the candidacy. At the moment, it is not yet an official bid, but rather a preliminary phase aimed at involving those who live in and bring life to the city. They are meeting with the city's cultural organisations and listening to citizens to gather ideas, energy and visions for the cultural future of Trieste. Finally, the only city in southern Italy to have launched its candidacy, at least in theory, is Syracuse. However, news on the internet has been stagnant since February. Pesaro had also considered applying for the European title after winning the title of Italian Capital of Culture. However, much will depend on the elections for the renewal of the Regional Council and whether Matteo Ricci, an open supporter of the European Capital of Culture, is elected president of the Marche Region.