Trieste will be European Science
Capital in 2020, the head of the Trieste International
Foundation, Stefano Fantoni, announced Tuesday at a press
conference with Friuli Governor Debora Serracchiani and Trieste
Mayor Roberto Dipiazza.
Trieste beat Dutch university cities Leiden - which will now
be science capital in 2022 - and The Hague in the final vote,
Fantoni said.
He said "it was not long work, but very hard, for which we
must thank very many people...we got to penalties against the
Dutch and won".
Fantoni said the benefits for the local area would be
"tremendous" and "we will show the Europeans how these things
are done, it will be the best EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF)
ever."
He underscored the 164 letters of support for the bid, coming
from an area inhabited by 250 million people and made up of
Italia, Austria, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Montenegro,
Czech Republic, Romania, Ukraine and Hungary.
Education Minister Valeria Fedeli said the choice of Trieste
was a "source of national pride".
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