Gibellina, the first “Italian Capital of Contemporary Art” 2026, thanks also to wine

The pairing of wine and art now boasts a “collection” of projects, as WineNews has always regularly reported. Among these projects there is one of the most revolutionary contemporary works of art as well as one of the largest examples of land art in the world. It is the “Cretto”, by Alberto Burri, in Gibellina Nuova, a symbol marking the rebirth, thanks to beauty, of the community in Valle del Belìce, in Sicily, devastated by the 1968 earthquake. It was created at the start of the 1980s, to preserve forever, under white cement, in a sort of shroud, the rubble and ruins of Vecchia Gibellina. Credit goes to Ludovico Corrao, the “visionary” Mayor of Gibellina, author of the redemption for creating an art laboratory and a meeting place for artists, architects, musicians, poets, farmers, artisans, workers and young people to dialogue and discuss (together with Burri, also Mimmo Paladino, author of the famous “Montagna di Sale”, Pietro Consagra, Mario Schifano, Andrea Cascella, Arnaldo Pomodoro, Franco Angeli and Leonardo Sciascia, one of the great intellectuals of the twentieth century, honorary citizen of Gibellina). Gibellina has risen from the ashes of devastation and poverty, in which wine played an important role as well (as we narrated in one of our trips to Sicily). Actually, the wines of Tenute Orestiadi are grown in the vineyards around Burri's work, from “PetraMater”, renamed "Wine of the Cretto”, to the Cru Sicilia DOC Riserva Ludovico, in honor of Corrao, which, today are telling the world the story of a territory that has transformed difficult times into energy. And, half a century after the first great natural disaster since the Second World War - in an era of so many catastrophes - has won its bet, as Gibellina has received the award from the Ministry of Culture and is the first "Italian Capital of Contemporary Art” 2026.
“Receiving this prestigious cultural title”, Rosario Di Maria, president of Tenute Orestiadi, said, “makes us proud and makes us reflect on the value of the city that is opening up to and ready to dialogue with the world. It was exciting for our community, which has continued to imagine this Gibellina at the center of the world, to experience the proclamation together. New life and new scenarios are emerging, thanks to this powerful ray of sunshine illuminating the future of our city”. The Tenute Orestiadi were created to promote the heritage of the Mediterranean, including agriculture, upon the suggestion of the Orestiadi Foundation, one of the most important cultural institutions in the Mediterranean, and Cantine Ermes, the largest Cooperative organization of Sicilian wine and one of the most important in Italy ( counting over 2.500 winemakers and more than 13.600 hectares). Sharing the same spirit that inspired Ludovico Corrao’s work, the Orestiadi Foundation and Cantine Ermes are continuing his projects with “Destinazione Gibellina”, exhibiting and restoring contemporary works of art at the open-air museums of Gibellina and Baglio Di Stefano. They are collaborating with the Brera Academy of Fine Arts for the Barrique Museum of Tenute Orestiadi, and also taking care of the “Vigneto del Mediterraneo”, which is 500 Moscato vines from the Mare Nostrum countries, and the “Garden of the Mediterranean”, a botanical garden of Mediterranean biodiversity.
Tenute Orestiadi, once again, “is standing alongside the Municipal administration that by submitting a credible and professionally curated candidacy has won, confirming the charisma of a territory that is as resilient as it is appealing. It is a symbolic place of the Valle del Belìce and of Sicily on the move”. Salvatore Sutera, Mayor of Gibellina, also launched a new signal of hope, “in this moment there are so many catastrophes”, emphasizing that “from dark moments one can regenerate with a new identity”. “Dad’s bet is continuing to win today. We must create bridges that bring emotions, trust in the future, and hope in people”, said Francesca and Antonella Corrao, daughters of Ludovico, after the award.
The award also means that Gibellina (Pescara, Carrara, Gallarate and Todi, were the other candidate cities, ed.) will receive 1 million euros to finance the project with which it won (conceived by Roberto Albergoni, Director General of the “Agrigento Italian Capital of Culture” 2025 Foundation, with the two Sicilian cities that will ideally pass the baton), titled “Bring me the Future”, or, “initiatives linked to contemporary art and creativity, cultural planning, urban regeneration, restoration and above all, to building a vision of the future that knows how to take into account beauty as a shared and regenerating value”.