With the opening ceremony in the spaces of the State Archives inside the Royal Palace of Caserta yesterday kicked off the international festival “Caserta, the City of Women,” an event dedicated to women’s leadership and equality policies. The initiative is organized by the Horizons Foundation with the support of BCC Terra di Lavoro San Vincenzo de’ Paoli, the Caserta Chamber of Commerce and Confindustria Caserta. Opening the ceremony was the president of the Horizons Foundation, Giuseppe Menniti. Then speakers included Archives Director General Antonio Tarasco, Caserta Prefect Lucia Volpe, member of the Extraordinary Commission of the Municipality of Caserta Daniela Caruso, Vice-President of the European Parliament Pina Picierno, and presidential secretary of the Chamber of Deputies Annarita Patriarca.
The festival runs for the entire weekend and culminates with International Women’s Day, presenting itself as a great space for cultural and social discussion on the role of women in contemporary society. “It is intended to make Caserta,” said Giuseppe Menniti, “not only a stage, but the symbolic epicenter of a contemporary thought on women, starting from the place that was among the first in the world to enshrine in law and practice the principle of gender equality. In Caserta, in fact, in the second half of the 18th century, a revolutionary idea for the time was born in the Royal Colony of San Leucio: to recognize women’s dignity, rights and future.”
The festival’s program is divided into several sections that weave together culture, innovation, celebration and wellness. The State Archives of the Reggia and the marquee in Piazza Carlo di Borbone host “FEM – Festa dell’editoria femminile,” a review dedicated to female authors and female publishing production. In the heart of the city, in Piazza Dante, the “Creator Hub – Digital Voices of the Feminine,” a workshop of creativity and new digital narratives, comes to life. The Belvedere of San Leucio, on the other hand, becomes the center of reflection with “HERitage San Leucio – Visions, rights and the feminine future,” a series of talks and meetings dedicated to the theme of women’s rights and opportunities. Finally, in Gramsci Square finds space for “The Village of Women – A celebration, a meeting, a community,” a place for gathering and participation open to the city. Book presentations also kicked off on the first day of the festival.
Opening was award-winning writer Amélie Nothomb, who dialogued with Maria Beatrice Crisci on her latest book Meglio così (Voland). The second day will see the inauguration at the Belvedere of the “HERitage San Leucio” section with the panel “The feminine world: balances and challenges of the gender gap,” followed by the Matilde Serao Award and meetings dedicated to the themes of leadership, innovation and the role of women in different spheres of society. The calendar of “FEM – Festa dell’editoria femminile” is also rich, with numerous meetings and dialogues between female authors, journalists and protagonists of the Italian cultural world, including Concita De Gregorio, Beatrice Luzzi, Barbara Alberti and Titti Marrone. The festival will continue with debates, publishing presentations, workshops and moments of discussion open to the city, with the aim of making Caserta an international reference point for dialogue on women’s rights, culture and the future.
