The lehendakari will promote the international cultural projection of the Basque Country during his trip to Italy next week

The President ,Imanol Pradales, will be in Italyon 6, 7 and 8 May with an agenda marked by the impetus of the international cultural projection ofthe Basque Country, "at a key moment to strengthen its presence in the great global spaces of creation and thought", as highlighted by the Presidency.

The main focus of the trip will be to participate in the events organized within the Venice Biennial , one of the main stages of contemporary art worldwide, on the 50th anniversary of the first Basque presence at the Biennial in 1976.

In particular, the Lehendakari will be accompanied by the first Vice-President and Counsellor for Culture and Linguistic Policy, Ibone Bengoetxea, to support the project "I Baschi alla Biennale 1976/2026", an initiative that recovers that historic milestone and reinterprets it from contemporary artistic languages.

The proposal for Basque culture is structured around three complementary axes: institutional, academic and artistic, 7 of May "which will make it possibleto link the past with the present ", the Government has reported.

The academic axiswill provide spaces for reflection on the memory of Basque participation in the Biennial; the artistwill have a contemporary exhibition in dialogue with the 1976 programme; and the institutionalwill enhance the visibility of the Basque Country as a "cultural subject with its own identity". 

"All this with the protagonism of a new generation of Basque artists, mostly women, who represent the evolution and maturity of the Basque cultural system, "explains Lehendakaritza.

The program includes an institutional event at the Scuola Grande San Giovanni Evangelista, "the symbolic place where the Basque presentation took place in 1976", as well as a visit to the official pavilion of the Venice Biennial on 8 May.

Euskadi returns to Venice 50 years after that 1976 gesture, "which led to Venice much more than art in a time of transition, uncertainty and lack of freedom." 

"This group of Basque artists carried the voice of a people, a gesture that was also an affirmation of identity, dignity and freedom and made art an instrument for making itself visible and reclaiming its place in the world, "the Presidency stressed.

The Government stresses that "today, half a century later, the Basque Country will return from a completely different context: as a consolidated society, with its own institutions and a strong cultural system". The return received by this witness "links memory with contemporary creation and places the Basque Country on the international stage, a modern country, creative, with its own identity and open to the world", it adds.

The President will also be on the political agenda inthe Emilia-Romagna region and will hold a meeting on 6 May with President Michele de Pascale to strengthen bilateral relations initiated in 2023. 

This process has made it possible to make progress in identifying areas of common interest and in drawing up the Memorandumof Understanding (MoU), which is expected to be signed by 2026 in order to establish a strategic regional alliance.

The meetings will serve to strengthen the political momentum of the relationship and strengthen cooperation in strategic sectors such as advanced manufacturing, energy and sustainability, automotive, aerospace industry and digital technologies, including artificial intelligence, data and quantum technologies. 

The connection between business ecosystems, clusters and technology centres will also be promoted to give continuity to the collaborative dynamics already initiated, including the participation of Emilia-Romagna in the Leaders "Meeting held in Bilbao.

During the working day in Bologna, the Lehendakari will meet with Cardinal Matteo Zuppi , President of the Italian Episcopal Conference, Archbishop of Bologna and one of the most prominent figures of the Catholic Church in Europe, who has stood out for his commitment to dialogue, mediation and peaceful settlement of conflicts, in line with the tradition of the Community of Sant'Eegidio.

In general, the journey reinforces the integrated vision of the external relations of the Basque Country, Euskadi Global, where culture acts as a central element of international projection, combining identity, innovation and cooperation, to place the country in the main global spaces of creation and decision-making.