Turin
Of Editorial board – June 24, 2024
From today, June 24, the feast of the patron saint San Giovanni, Turin has two new “ambassadors”. Their task will be to represent and promote our city in the world. This morning, during the ceremony in the Red Room of Palazzo Civico, the mayor Stefano Lo Russo and the president of the town Council Maria Grazia Grippo presented the honor to Maria Beatrice Merz and Valerio Minato.
The mayor Stefano Lo Russo: “the recognition represents not only a thank you for the activity in which two illustrious fellow citizens distinguish themselves but also the request to help us talk about and promote our city. Very often it is said of us Turin people that we are good at doing things but less good at telling them: this is the task in which, from today, we will ask for their commitment”.
Here is the reason for the recognition of ambassador in the world to Maria Beatrice Merz, president and director of the foundation named after the Turin painter, sculptor and well-known exponent of Arte Povera Mario Merz: “For having contributed significantly to the research activity on contemporary art, which for twenty years has found in the Merz Foundation an active and prolific laboratory of ideas and a place of meeting and discussion for national and international artists”.
Beatrice Merz he thanked the mayor, the president of the City Council and “the whole city that welcomes us and comes to visit us. Our role – she said – is to work in this city but bring it to the world. Turin – she added – has always been a starting point and a landing point for my entire family, with this role I intend to ensure that it becomes even more so”.
Valerio Minato, photographer, is the author of numerous shots of Turin. Awarded last December 25th by NASA for the photo of the Basilica of Superga with Monviso and the moon behind it, he is an “ambassador” “for having immortalized the soul and beauty of Turin with a careful eye and dedication, creating a visual treasure for the people of Turin and beyond. His dedication to the city is reflected in every detail of his photographs, transmitting his love for Turin to anyone who looks at them.”
“I do the best job I can imagine, in the city that welcomed me twenty years ago – he commented Valerio Minato -. A city that I began to love and photograph in every corner, a hobby that over time became a full-time occupation. In recent months my shots have brought me many beautiful things and this recognition is certainly among them.”
The City of Turin established the title of ambassador in the world of excellence of the Turin area in 2020 to allocate it to citizens, from Turin and beyond, who have distinguished themselves for their contribution to the development and image of the Turin area. Ambassadors are included in a special register and have the task of representing and promoting the excellence of the territory and the artistic, architectural and cultural heritage that Turin can offer tourists, institutions and businesses from all over the world.
ilTorinese.it (photo City of Turin)
Return to home news
