Mantua named Italian Capital of Culture 2016

(AGI) Rome, Oct 27 - Mantua will be the Italian capital ofculture in 2016, Minister of Culture Dario Franceschiniannounced on Tuesday. The city was chosen by a jurychaired by Marco Cammelli, who handed the minister the envelopewith the name of the winner. Mr Franceschini then opened it inthe hall of the National Council of the Ministry to proclaim itit to the press. Mantua was chosen from a short list often cities: Aquileia, Como, Ercolano, Parma, Pisa, Pistoia,Spoleto, Taranto, Terni and, of course, Mantua. "We willtry not to make any mistakes. We will do our best to show thatwe deserved this award," said Mayor of Mantua Mattia Palazzi,of the centre-left PD, live at the ministry soon after theannouncement was made. He added: "Besides the 1 million eurosthat we will receive for winning the competition, I shouldemphasise that this award gives us the strength to carry on thework we are doing for our city, for our historical and artisticheritage. Ours is a small city but with an extraordinaryheritage in which we are investing." (AGI) . .