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Capital wins Rome’s cultural award

On Sunday evening, one of the most prestigious awards of the city of Rome, Lupa Capitolina, was offered to Shaikh Sultan bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Tourism and Cultural Authority and Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC), for the city’s efforts of instilling culture in its residents and tourists.

The Rome Award was offered for the first time to a city and a personality in the Middle East and it celebrates Shaikh Sultan’s commitment to Saadiyat Island’s cultural development.

“This award will encourage us to go with full speed in developing the cultural institutions on Saadiyat Island. It will further foster the relationships between Abu Dhabi and Italy,” Shaikh Sultan told Khaleej Times.

Lupa Capitolina (Capitoline’s she-wolf, symbolising the foundation of Rome) is given annually by the Capital of Italy to those working to reaffirm the universal values of culture.

The award is, in fact, part of an Italian international literary prize, Premio Roma (the Rome Award), held every year in a capital city judged to have considerable cultural significance. The Sunday evening ceremony, attended by Shaikh Sultan and Italian officials, marked the opening ceremony of the 14^th Premio Roma edition.

“The award comes in the framework of the cultural agreement signed last November between Abu Dhabi and Italy,” said Giorgio Starace, Italian Ambassador to Abu Dhabi.

“The agreement creates the juridical framework for future cooperation and Memorandums of Understanding. It enables us to create university exchanges, exhibitions and museum exchanges,” he also told Khaleej Times.

TDIC is already working with Italian art institutions to bring authentic imperial Rome artefacts to Abu Dhabi for a major art exhibition. — silvia@khaleejtimes.com