Agrigento, famed for its rich archaeological heritage, succeeds Pesaro as Italian culture capital.

Italy's president Sergio Mattarella on Saturday will launch Agrigento as Capitale Italiana della Cultura 2025 with a ceremony in the hilltop Sicilian city.

Over the course of this year, hundreds of cultural events will take place in Agrigento which won the coveted culture capital status with its bid titled La natura della cultura.

Located on Sicily's southern coast, Agrigento was founded as a Greek colony in the sixth century BC and is celebrated for its UNESCO archaeological area, the Valley of the Temples.

• Exploring Italy's Greek Temples

The archaeological area stetches from the Rupe Atenea to the acropolis of the original ancient city, as well as the sacred hill with the main Doric temples and the extramural necropolis.

Full details of Agrigento's cultural programme for 2025 can be found on the official website.

Italy's Capitals of Culture: a brief history

Launched in Italy in 2014, the first Italian culture capitals were Cagliari, Lecce, Perugia, Ravenna and Siena in 2015, Mantua in 2016, Pistoia in 2017 and Palermo in 2018.

The Italian title skipped a year in 2019 when Matera, in the southern Basilicata region, became the European Capital of Culture.

In 2020 it was the turn of Parma to receive Italy's culture capital status, with the north Italian city retaining the title for a second year to make up for the negative effects of the covid lockdowns.

Procida, a small island in the Gulf of Naples, held the prestigious title in 2022.

Bergamo and Brescia jointly held the 2023 Capital of Culture title after Italy bypassed the usual application process in a "symbol of rebirth" for the two northern cities devastated by the covid pandemic.

L'Aquila, the city devastated by the massive earthquake that struck the central Abruzzo region almost 15 years ago, will be Italian Capital of Culture 2026.

On Friday the culture ministry announced the 10 finalists in the race for Italy's 2027 culture capital: Alberobello, Aliano, Brindisi, Gallipoli, La Spezia, Pompeii, Pordenone, Reggio Calabria, Sant’Andrea di Conza, and Savona.