Rijeka (Croatia) and Galway (Ireland) are the European Capitals of Culture 2020. The European Capitals of Culture initiative is designed to highlight the richness and diversity of cultures in Europe, celebrate the cultural features Europeans share, increase European citizens' sense of belonging to a common cultural area, foster the contribution of culture to the development of cities. In addition to this, experience has shown that the event is an excellent opportunity for regenerating cities, raising the international ...

profile of cities, enhancing the image of cities in the eyes of their own inhabitants, breathing new life into a city's culture, boosting tourism.

European  Capitals  of  Culture,  according  to  latterday  legend, were born at Athens airport in January 1985, a day of high winds and delayed flights. Sitting in the lounge waiting for their planes were glamorous former actress Melina Mercouri, then Greece’s Minister of Culture, and her French counterpart, the charismatic Jack Lang.

They  were  fresh  from  a  meeting  of  Europe’s  culture  ministers, and said it was a shame  that there were so few occasions  of  this  kind.  They  talked  about  this  and  that  and  as they  killed  time  in  lively  conversation,  Mercouri  came  up with  the  idea  of  launching  a  series  of  yearly  events  that would put the spotlight on cities around Europe and their role  in  the  development  of  European  cultures.  Lang  was keen and so the European Capitals of Culture initiative was launched.

Rijeka, Italian Fiume, is Croatia’s third-largest city with regard to the number of inhabitants, the major port and an industrial, commercial, and cultural centre of western Croatia. It is located on the Kvarner (a gulf of the Adriatic Sea), along the course of Rječina River and nearby numerous streams. It lies on abundant sources and confluences. Like numerous cities in the world, Rijeka carries the symbol of water in its name.

The oldest traces of human presence in today’s Rijeka area date back to the Palaeolithic and Neolithic periods, and the remnants of prehistoric castles (Solin above Martinšćica, Trsatski brijeg and Veli vrh – Gradišće above the Rječina River) to the Bronze and Iron Ages.

The development of Rijeka impelled the newly arrived Slavic settlers – the Croats – to conquer Tarsatica and start building a new settlement.

During the civil revolution of 1848, the city was annexed to the Banovina of Croatia, and the governor Josip Jelačić became governor of Rijeka. The fight over Rijeka between Croatia and Hungary was intensifying until the Croatian-Hungarian Treaty, the so called “Riječka krpica”...
This expansive social and economic development also increased the number of inhabitants. Today, Rijeka and its surroundings have approximately 200.000 inhabitants. Simultaneously with its industrial development, Rijeka became the centre of western Croatia.

Galway is a city in County Galway in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city in Ireland, with a population of 80,000. Galway is often referred to as the “Cultural Heart of Ireland” as it is most associated with the Irish language, music, song and dance traditions. Galway City is on the doorstep of Galway's Gaeltacht (an area where Irish is spoken). Galway Arts Festival is the highlight event of Ireland's "Cultural Heart". With its tangled lanes lined with colourful shopfronts curving around Galway Bay, compact Galway is one of Ireland's most picturesque cities. Bolstered by an energetic student population, it's also one of the island's most vibrant, with musicians striking up in its atmospheric pubs and busking on its streets, a seafood-driven culinary scene, jam-packed calendar of events and a bohemian soul.

Galway started out life as a fishing village, Claddagh, and really took off in the 13th century when it came under the Anglo-Norman rule of Richard de Burgo (the Red Earl) and its city walls were constructed. It's likely the Spanish Arch, which protected moored merchant ships from Spain, is a remnant of the medieval walls. In 1396, Richard II transferred power to 14 merchant-family 'tribes'; the most powerful, the Lynch family, built Lynch's Castle, Ireland's finest town castle (now an AIB bank). More recent history, from 1800 to 1950, is on display at the Galway City Museum.

European Capitals of Culture have already been designated for the next few years: 2021 Timișoara (Romania) and Elefsina (Greece) and Novi Sad (Serbia, candidate country); 2022: Kaunas (Lithuania) and Esch (Luxembourg). (Carlo Pozzoli)