There are 16 dossiers of the cities and Unions of Municipalities nominated for the title of Italian Capital of Culture 2026 received by the Ministry of Culture by the expected deadline of 27 September 2023. The Mic announced this in a note in which it reports the list of cities, with the title of the project, which submitted the application:
1. Agnone (Isernia), «Agnone 2026: Fire, inside. Margin at the centre” 2. Alba (Cuneo), «Living is beginning. Langhe and Roero, another story” 3. Bernalda (Matera), «Listening. World, Knowledge and Mystery” 4. Cosenza, «From Dreams to Signs” 5. Gaeta (Latina), «Blu, the Climate of Culture” 6. L’Aquila, «L’Aquila Città Multiverso” 7. Latina, «Latina bonum facere” 8. Lucca, «Lucca 2026. Living in culture” 9 . Lucera (Foggia), «Lucera 2026: Crossroads of Peoples and Cultures” 10. Maratea (Potenza), «Maratea 2026. The future starts from a thousand-year journey” 11. Marcellinara (Catanzaro), «The meeting at the narrowest point in Italy” 12. Rimini, «Come further. The future here and now” 13. Treviso, «The Senses of Culture” 14. Union of the Municipalities of the Lands of Oil and Sagrantino (Perugia), «CulturaXBenessere” 15. Union of the Municipalities of Valdichiana Senese (Siena), «Valdichiana 2026, seed of Italy” 16. Mountain Union of Municipalities of the Tiber Valley of Tuscany (Arezzo), “The Song of Cultures”.
The applications, which contain the one-year cultural project, the details of the timetable and the individual activities planned as well as the assessment of economic-financial sustainability, will be evaluated by a jury of experts who will examine them and select a maximum of ten finalists by December 15, 2023. All the finalist cities will be called for public hearings, which must take place by 14 March 2024. At that moment each candidate will have the opportunity to present and explore their project to the Jury. The proclamation of the Italian Capital of Culture will be held by 29 March 2024. The winner will receive a financial contribution of one million euros to achieve the objectives set out in the candidacy project, transform the ideas into an action program and showcase, in period of one year, its cultural richness and the development potential connected to it.