The Local Institutions and ITS
June 18, 2010
Antonio Paoletti has been the President of the Chamber of Commerce of Trieste since 2000. The Chamber of Commerce aims at promoting the development of local enterprises and businesses and is fundamental in regulating the economical landscape of the town. Guerrino Lanci is the President of Promotrieste, that bears in its name the reason of its existence: to promote all of the events in town, especially national and international conventions.
Both organisations have been long-time supporters of ITS, and we had the chance to briefly interview their presidents to ask them a couple questions on ITS and future developments.
ITS: ITS was held in the most important locations in town: the Castle of San Giusto, the main city square “Piazza Unità”, the Old Port and for the last 4 years the “Salone degli Incanti” facing the sea, on the town’s “Rive”. Do you believe the event was worth these very exclusive spaces?
Paoletti: ITS is now an established appointment for the city, it is becoming part of its DNA. It is an event that has received appreciation from all sides and it must be given great credit for bringing young talents to a city full of cultural traditions and taste. The freshness and the new ideas brought by ITS are a contribution to the vocation Trieste always had throughout the whole of the last century towards what’s new and what’s yet to be discovered. Today the city must find new ways to match the different declinations of artistic expression.
Lanci: Definitely. ITS took place in the most relevant locations from an historical, artistic and cultural point of view. I believe that such an event deserves nothing less than those important settings. The only alternative I can think of with an innovative and impressive scenery could be a natural location, maybe one of the huge caves on our Karst landscape. That could be a very alternative setting! Who knows, maybe in the future…
ITS: 400 guests from over 60 countries fill the hotels, taste our food and go back home fascinated by the beauty of our city. Over 150 articles get published in 35 countries by the most important international press in the field who come to Trieste for ITS. Everyone at ITS describes Trieste as a hidden gem. How do you feel about this? Do you believe the event is important to communicate worldwide the values of this unique city?
Paoletti: Trieste appears to be a city that naturally welcomes big events and doesn’t get swept away by them. Ultimately, it is a huge natural stage, with its open square facing the sea, its waterfront and its castles facing the gulf. People often fall instantly in love with this town, and the bond gets deeper since it is unexpected. Events like ITS allowing people who still knew nothing of Trieste to discover it are precious contributions that must be enhanced and enlarged.
Lanci: Needless to say, I am very happy ITS received so much attention - especially in the press - throughout the years. I think we must learn to improve the use we make of the huge amount of work underlying events of this kind. The development of our territory is influenced by the tourist promotion that these events can grant to our city. International platforms such as ITS showcase the town to the world and Trieste must aim at these results if it really wants to become an even more important tourist attraction. I believe our territory has everything that is required to reach this goal.
ITS: For the future, ITS dreams about a tenth edition that will include the entire city, at long last involving all of the citizens of Trieste and the whole town centre in a big festival to gather and celebrate the young creativity discovered in 10 years and the results of such a great amount of work. A demonstration that through will and determination things it this city can happen. What are your thoughts on this?
Paoletti: It is an incredibly interesting challenge in reference to what I said above. The town has had important periods in art and culture, but it also represented the disillusioned nature of Decadence and it has never abandoned its irony, which fuels its tolerance and its cosmopolitan approach. A tendency that can turn into a kind of laziness though, which should lead to a greater reactivity. If a more “contagious” version of ITS can help redesign the town’s look or question its self-comprehension as a city of the 20th century, it would be more than welcomed.
Lanci: For a tenth edition of this kind, we all must begin to work together immediately: I refer to the organiser of ITS but also to the local Institutions and private sponsors. We all have to believe in this project together: it is the only way to really become “big”.
