TODAY THE FIRST OF THREE MEETINGS WITHIN ARMONIE DEL MEDITERRANEO
The first event in a series dedicated to the Mediterranean climate opens today, Thursday, July 17, at 7:00 PM, at the CMCC headquarters, Via Marco Biagi 5, Lecce.
Titled “Mediterranean Climate: Innovation and Opportunities for a Sustainable Future”, the meeting will be an important opportunity to explore the current state of the climate in the Mediterranean basin—one of the regions of the world where the effects of global warming are most intense.
This event marks the beginning of three meetings organized by the CMCC Foundation – Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change within Armonie del Mediterraneo, a cultural program promoted by the City of Lecce with the scientific and organizational support of the Agency for the Euromediterranean Cultural Heritage.
In the heart of Lecce’s summer, environmental sustainability takes center stage, giving voice to science within a program that weaves together art, ideas, and civic participation. The goal is to provide essential tools to understand the ongoing transformations and imagine a possible future for the Mediterranean.
Following institutional greetings from Sen. Adriana Poli Bortone, Mayor of Lecce, and Dr. Laura Panzera, CMCC Operations Director, Guido Rianna (CMCC – Institute for Climate Resilience) will open the discussion with “Sustainable Management of Water Resources.”
The talk will focus on Mediterranean water resources, increasingly scarce and central to growing tensions between agricultural, civil, and industrial needs—against a backdrop of recurring droughts and environmental pressures.
Next, Verena Dreyer and Leonardo Lima (CMCC – Institute for Earth System Predictions) will present “The Copernicus Service and Mediterranean Forecasts”, showing how advanced satellite tools and European climate models now enable an increasingly precise and dynamic understanding of the Mediterranean system, providing valuable future scenarios for planning and adaptation.
The evening will close with Salvatore Causio (CMCC – Institute for Earth System Predictions) and his presentation “The Mediterranean Coasts and the Challenge of Adaptation”, dedicated to the fragile balance between coastal development, ecosystem protection, and urban resilience in a region where about 30% of the population lives within ten kilometers of the sea.
On Friday, July 18, at 7:00 PM, the series moves to Bar Astoria, near Porta San Biagio, for the first of two Mediterranean Aperitifs.
Titled “The Sea to Come”, the event will feature Gianandrea Mannarini (CMCC – Institute for Earth System Predictions) and Federica Stella Blasi (researcher with the “Global Coasts as a New Frontier” program). It will be an opportunity to envision the future of our sea in light of ongoing climate changes, exploring oceanographic scenarios, emerging risks, and adaptation prospects.
The final event will take place on Saturday, July 19, at 7:00 PM, at Barrito, Via Francesco de Mura 67. This time, the focus will turn to the land—an element both tangible and symbolic—in a meeting titled “Our Soil: Food and Fire in the Mediterranean Region.” The discussion will be led by Gabriele Pizzileo, Malik Aljabu, and Shahbaz Alvi, researchers at CMCC.
The three meetings organized by CMCC from July 17 to 19 within Armonie del Mediterraneo are designed to approach climate change in an integrated way.
The Mediterranean is a complex, interconnected system, and it is crucial to act in a coordinated manner across multiple fronts—water, sea, and soil—by connecting scientific knowledge, public policy, and civic participation.
This “climate hotspot,” despite challenges such as droughts, wildfires, storm surges, biodiversity loss, and climate-induced migrations, also offers significant opportunities for innovation, adaptation, and cooperation.
The series addresses environmental sustainability not as an abstract principle, but as a concrete and urgent issue that directly impacts quality of life, the health of ecosystems, and the future of communities. The CMCC Foundation is committed to bringing to Lecce an integrated vision of climate research—combining science, technology, and public policy to create a space for dialogue and awareness, transforming scientific knowledge into shared culture and collective engagement.
From this same vision was born the Armonie del Mediterraneo program, which is much more than a simple sequence of events: it is a widespread cultural laboratory where diverse languages—music, theatre, science, and critical thought—intertwine to shape a shared idea of the future.
In a time defined by speed, uncertainty, and fragmentation, Armonie del Mediterraneo chooses the path of listening, depth, and dialogue among disciplines. It invites each of us not to remain spectators, but to participate—to take an active part in a story that concerns us all.
Because the Mediterranean to come is not yet written. It depends on us.
All events are free to attend until capacity is reached.
For more information:
www.cmcc.it | www.agenziaeuromed.it | www.comune.lecce.it |info@agenziaeuromed.it | Facebook | Instagram
