Beppe Sala on Culture: Milan's Mayoral Candidate Interview

Beppe Sala, 58-year-old Milan-born candidate for the centre-left, outlines his cultural plans for Milan ahead of the 2016 runoff. A Bocconi graduate with a career at Pirelli and Telecom Italia, he served as General Director of Milan under Mayor Letizia Moratti and as sole commissioner for Expo 2015. Sala aims to make Milan a European capital of culture, competitive with London and Paris, through public-private partnerships and international promotion. He pledges to expand cultural offerings to suburbs, support street artists (over 200 stations already), and continue projects like CityLife's outdoor sculpture park (21 sculptures, one-third by Italian artists). He will appoint a culture assessor based on expertise, citing Emma Bonino as an advisor. Sala plans to revitalize the Ventura-Lambrate district, create an artists' house with studios and exhibition spaces, and integrate fashion, design, audiovisual, and food sectors via a 'Milan creativa' platform. He emphasizes collaboration with schools, universities, and cultural actors, and aims to be remembered as the mayor who placed Milan among the world's top ten most culturally attractive cities.