Umbria Jazz out to show region in perfect shape - Marini

(ANSA) - Perugia, May 9 - Umbria Governor Catiuscia Marini said Tuesday that the 44th Umbria Jazz festival will seek to prove that the region is in fine fettle after the recent earthquakes that hit central Italy.
    "We are giving this edition of Umbria Jazz a truly special job - that of showing the world that Umbria is in perfect shape, ready to welcome people in the best possible way, not just the jazz enthusiasts who traditionally take part in the musical events, but also the many tourists who want to choose our region," Marini said. "Umbria Jazz has been present right from August 24 (when the first quake in the series struck), with initiatives for the people hit by the earthquakes," she added as she presented the festival with regional culture chief Fernanda Cecchini. "It did this with solidarity events and with the heart. "Now we ask for a greater effort. That of helping us to get our economy going fully again, above all the areas linked to tourism, to manufacturing, to food and wine, to the environment and that, along with culture, represent the cornerstones of our regional fabric.
    "They involve hundreds of small and medium-sized enterprises that have been suffering for too many months, due to the indirect damage caused by the quakes. "Umbria Jazz has always been a great ambassador of our region and it is the event that, more than any other, has managed to get Umbria known all over the world.
    "We think that the 2017 festival is the best instrument with which to take Umbria and its cities back into international focus". Marini concluded by thanking Deputy Lower House Speaker Marina Sereni for a legislative initiative conducted with other lawmakers from the ruling coalition and from the opposition to have Umbria Jazz inserted into the list of major cultural events supported directly by the culture ministry.