On the eve of the live opera-event “Rigoletto in Mantova” that will be broadcasted live to an estimated billion viewers in 138 countries around the globe, the renowned opera singer Plácido Domingo, as President of Europa Nostra, launched an urgent appeal to save the Italian historic city of L'Aquila.

 

L'Aquila and the surrounding historic villages in the Abruzzo region were severely damaged in the 9 April 2009 earthquake. More than 300 people lost their lives and thousands of buildings were destroyed.  The clean-up efforts of the damaged historic centre have only barely started. Thousands of small businesses have had to close. The people are now housed in the new buildings on the outskirts of the town and are desperate to return to their homes.

 

“It is very, very sad. The people have not only lost their houses, they are in danger of losing their memory and the roots which are connected to this historic city. This is not only about stones, it is about people”, said Domingo said in an exclusive interview with Europa Nostra, the European Federation of heritage organisations of which he recently became President. “The inhabitants of L'Aquila are not looking to find a new city in which to live; they wish their historic city to be restored in order that they can come back to live there where their ancestors have been living for centuries”.

 

Domingo is rehearsing for what some have called “the opera event of a decade” in the Italian Renaissance city of Mantova (World Heritage City since 2008). This weekend the famous Verdi opera “Rigoletto” will be broadcasted live around the world with Domingo in the leading role. “It is an extraordinary experience to perform in such an incredibly beautiful and rich historic environment, in the same places which Verdi used as the setting for his Opera. This is one of the most difficult and one of the greatest operas of Verdi. This music is well known to the public. The public feels it and loves it. And the fact that the action is taking place, among others, in the historic Palazzo Ducale and Palazzo Te built by the Gonzaga family, brings us today in Mantua for this unique opera performance”.

 

“Like Mantova, L'Aquila can be called a true cradle of art, culture and beauty. On behalf of Europa Nostra - the organisation of which I am proud to be the President - I wish therefore to launch a powerful appeal for the safeguard of the historic city of L’Aquila and its surrounding historic villages and cultural landscape. This wonderful expression of the soul of Italy and Europe must not be lost for future generations”, Domingo said. 

 

For a full interview with Placido Domingo go to :

 

On the city of L'Aquila go to:

 

For more info on the live performance in Mantua see:

 

For more info on Europa Nostra, the Voice of Cultural Heritage in Europe see:

 

Sneska Quaedvlieg-Mihailovic, Secretary General, Europa Nostra,

T: +31.652313971; E: sqm@europanostra.org

 

 

 

Europa Nostra is the representative platform of over 250 heritage organisations active throughout Europe and the voice of this vast movement of European civil society active in the field towards international bodies concerned, in particular the European Union Institutions, the Council of Europe and UNESCO. Europa Nostra is dedicated to putting heritage and its benefits in the mainstream of public consciousness and to making heritage a priority for public policies both at European and national levels. Its specific objectives are to promote, at a European level, high standards of quality in the fields of heritage conservation, architecture, urban and rural planning and to advocate a balanced and sustainable development of urban and rural, built and natural environment.

Europa Nostra supports national and international campaigns for the preservation and rescue of Europe’s heritage at risk. It encourages exemplary initiatives in favour of the conservation and enhancement of cultural heritage by recognising outstanding heritage achievements, in particular through the running of the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards. Through its various activities, Europa Nostra seeks to highlight the importance of cultural heritage as a building block of European identity and as a contribution to the strengthening of the sense of European citizenship.