The UNESCO Chair at Pantelleria for the Visit of the President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella

On 28 July 2026, the UNESCO Chair on Intangible Cultural Heritage and Comparative Law at UnitelmaSapienza University of Rome took part in the celebrations for the tenth anniversary of the establishment of the Pantelleria Island National Park, held in the presence of the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella.

The ceremony took place at the Hangar of the Pantelleria Airport Detachment and brought together national and local institutions to mark an important milestone for the first National Park established in the Region of Sicily. After the greetings of the Mayor of Pantelleria, Fabrizio D’Ancona, and the Minister for the Environment and Energy Security, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, the President of the Pantelleria Island National Park Authority, Italo Cucci, and Professor Pier Luigi Petrillo, Chair Holder of the UNESCO Chair, addressed the audience.

The participation of the UNESCO Chair reflects its long-standing commitment to the study, safeguarding and enhancement of intangible cultural heritage, with particular attention to the relationship between communities, territories, traditional knowledge and sustainable development. Pantelleria represents a significant context in which natural heritage, cultural landscapes and living practices are deeply interconnected.

The ceremony concluded with the address of President Mattarella, who later met the local community and visitors in Piazza Cavour. The visit continued at the Geonaturalistic Museum of Punta Spadillo and at the Arco dell’Elefante, two symbolic places of the island’s natural and cultural identity.

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