Havana, October 27 (RHC) - The 22nd Italian Culture Week in Cuba will celebrate the Cuban capital’s 500 years with a broad representation of different art forms Nov 6/24, organizers announced. The week will open with the performance of singer-songwriter Carmen Consoli, a representative of feminist Italian music, along with Cuba’s female chamber orchestra Camerata Romeu at the Teatro América.

At a news conference Italian Embassy’s Counselor to Cuba Samuelle Fazzi stressed the importance of the event that, through culture as a unifying element, joins celebrations for the Cuban capital’s 500th birthday. About the 500th anniversary of the death of Renaissance master Leonardo Da Vinci, the exhibition El Genio Da Vinci will be on display at the Santo Domingo de Atarés Castle, with the attendance of the Mayor of the town of Vinci and Havana Historian Eusebio Leal. The launching of the Colombo project stands out among the week’s activities, considered the first baroque music opera dedicated to the Christopher Columbus, which will have its world premiere at Havana’s Grand Theater Alicia Alonso during 2020.

Also on the festival’s agenda: a celebration in the downtown Avenida Italia (Galiano), which will invite passersby, Havana residents and visitors to taste traditional dishes, such as pasta, children's games and live music. The event will include multiple cultural actions, such as the launching of the second anthology about Italian poets; the opening of photo exhibit that will connect Havana with Italy; and the Italian film showcase about moviemakers Gillo Pontecorvo and Valerio Zurlini in the Multipurpose Infanta Theater.

The week is expected to close with the performances of Sicilian jazz player Mario Biondi and his quintet, accompanied by Cuba’s César López, at the Martí Theater and at the Cuban Art Factory, on November 22 and 23, respectively. The initiative is aimed at increasing the ties of friendship between the two countries with a fruitful cooperation in the field of culture for several decades.