Il Meeting per Rimini capitale italiana della Cultura 2026

Mission to Cairo for the Rimini Meeting. On January 14, a delegation composed of President Bernhard Scholz, Director Emmanuele Forlani and Head of Exhibitions Alessandra Vitez landed at the international airport of the Egyptian capital. Wael Farouq, a member of the Meeting's cultural editorial staff and our "special envoy" in Arabic-speaking countries, welcomed our Italian friends.

The morning of Monday 15 – under a bright sun – was dedicated to visiting the places where, according to a thousand-year-old tradition, the Holy Family of Nazareth stayed for several months.

We visited a church and a monastery on the Nile, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, the first built in the fourth century to commemorate the presence of the Holy Family. A mosaic recalls that it was from the cave that directly overlooks the banks of the river that the three refugees, fleeing from King Herod, would have embarked and continued their escape. The altar in the crypt is covered with prayer cards from pilgrims.

The area of Coptic Cairo is known as the "Seven Churches", and is close to the Amr mosque, the first built by the Arabs, and the Ben Ezra synagogue, where tradition has it that little Moses was found.

Monday 15 morning: the places of the Flight into Egypt

But what was the main purpose of the visit to Cairo? As Bernhard and Alessandra explain, we want to create an exhibition on the Flight into Egypt, showing places dear to Christians and Muslims, for an event that is perceived as sacred by various religions. An exhibition in full line with the vocation of the Meeting, to bring to light both historical and contemporary experiences of lived dialogue.

Monday 15 afternoon: with the Italian ambassador

In the afternoon we visited the Italian Embassy in Egypt, where we were welcomed by Ambassador Michele Quaroni. We talked with him about the role of the Meeting in the international context and in Egypt, recalling the Cairo Meeting in 2010 and 2012 and the presentations in Alexandria and Cairo in 2018, envisaging the possibility of a common work in 2025. The hope, Bernhard explains, is to repeat similar events in the future.

Tuesday 16 morning: received by Bishop General Anba Ermia

On Tuesday, January 16, Wael Farouq tells us, the meeting with Anba Ermia, bishop general and president of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center. Bishop Hermia, who was at the Meeting in 2011, said he was very happy to create together the exhibition on the Flight into Egypt at the Meeting. "We were struck," comments Wael, "by this poor and persecuted church that lives its faith deeply, working silently for the good."

Tuesday 16 afternoon: a balance of the visit

Our director Emmanuele Forlani has the task of offering a summary of the two days. Two intense days, lived breathlessly, but for which to be deeply grateful. At the end of the visit, we cannot fail to thank you for the welcome and for the beauty we saw for the places of the Flight into Egypt. Equal gratitude goes to Wael Farouq, without whom the visit would not have been possible, and together with him to the friends who will create the exhibition.