MIRA in Messina: Italy's New Mediterranean Institute and Its Neocolonial Entanglements
The MIRA-Mediterranean Institute for Research and Arts launched in Messina, Sicily, on July 2, 2026. This facility is a collaboration involving Italy's Ministry of Culture, the Municipality of Messina, and the University of Messina, with backing from the MAXXI Foundation. MIRA is a successor to the MAXXI Med initiative initiated in 2023. It supports the cultural goals of the Meloni administration for the Mediterranean region, as laid out in a law enacted on February 21, 2025, which established a dedicated unit for cultural collaboration with Africa. The program has drawn scrutiny due to concerns of neocolonialism linked to migration issues.
Key facts
- MIRA presented on 2 July 2026 in Messina, Sicily
- Promoted by Italy's Ministry of Culture, Municipality of Messina, University of Messina, with support from MAXXI Foundation
- MIRA absorbs the earlier MAXXI Med project
- DL Cultura issued 27 December 2024, converted into Law no. 16 on 21 February 2025
- Unit of Mission for Cultural Cooperation with Africa and the Wider Mediterranean created by Article 2
- Piano Mattei initial allocation: €5.5 billion (€3 billion from Italian Climate Fund, €2.5 billion from development cooperation)
- SACE provides €4 billion in guarantees
- Eni's Kenyan biofuel operation: €184 million (€66 million from Italian Climate Fund, €118 million from IFC)
- €250 million from Cassa Depositi e Prestiti and SACE to Africa Finance Corporation, tied to Lobito Corridor
- Leonardo S.p.A. involved in 'smart agriculture' under Piano Mattei
- Migration control explicitly in Piano Mattei
- Minister of Culture Alessandro Giuli quoted on Italy's role as 'mediator in the Mediterranean'
Entities
Artists
- Alfio Biondi
- Gabriele D'Annunzio
- Benito Mussolini
- Enrico Mattei
- Alessandro Giuli
Institutions
- MIRA-Mediterranean Institute for Research and Arts
- Italy's Ministry of Culture
- Direzione Generale Creatività Contemporanea
- Unità di missione per la cooperazione culturale con l’Africa e il Mediterraneo allargato
- Municipality of Messina
- University of Messina
- MAXXI Foundation
- MAXXI Med
- MAXXI (National Museum of 21st Century Arts)
- Piano Mattei per l’Africa
- Italian Climate Fund
- SACE
- Eni
- International Finance Corporation
- World Bank Group
- Cassa Depositi e Prestiti
- Africa Finance Corporation
- Leonardo S.p.A.
- Frontex
- NERO Editions
Locations
- Messina
- Italy
- Sicily
- Rome
- L'Aquila
- Kenya
- Lobito Corridor
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Zambia
- Angola
- Atlantic coast
- Florence
- Mediterranean
- Africa
- Europe