From Athens 1985 to Nova Gorica - Gorizia 2025: a brief history of the European Capitals of Culture

This essay traces the forty-year evolution of the European Capitals of Culture (ECoC) programme, from its symbolic beginnings in Athens 1985 to the cross-border experiment of Nova Gorica–Gorizia 2025. Initially conceived by Melina Mercouri to celebrate cultural diversity and foster European identity, the ECoC has progressively become a powerful tool for urban regeneration, civic participation, and territorial innovation. The authors reconstruct key phases in the programme’s development, highlighting turning points such as Glasgow 1990 and Matera 2019, and analyzing how cities have used culture to reframe marginality, activate inclusive processes, and reshape their image and infrastructures. The essay also examines the Italian experience, including the parallel creation of the Italian Capital of Culture programme. In its contemporary form, the ECoC emerges as a laboratory for policy experimentation, intercultural dialogue, and democratic imagination, embodying the transition from celebratory culture to strategic urban transformation.