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The city of Fez shines once again on the international stage after a Moroccan-Italian artistic work presented during the Fez World Spiritual Music Festival 2025 won the prestigious “Silver Mercury” prize, considered the “Oscar” of Italian cultural diplomacy, awarded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

This prize is awarded each year to the most outstanding cultural initiative organized by the network of Italian institutes around the world, in recognition of events that promote dialogue between cultures and open innovative bridges of human communication.

The jury considered that this edition represented an artistic model of excellence illustrating the profound interaction between Moroccan and Italian heritage. This work is the result of a collaboration between the Italian Embassy in Morocco, the Italian Cultural Institute of Rabat and the Esprit de Fès Foundation

Musicians Antonio Greco and Mohamed Beryoul presented an artistic performance mixing Italian baroque music and Arab Andalusian rhythms, an encounter that the foundation described as a sincere translation of the essence of the festival, convinced that music is a universal language capable of building understanding between peoples. The jury praised the symbolic value of this mixture, transforming the work into an aesthetic space open to spiritual dialogue, highlighting the quality of the interpretation and the depth of the message conveyed

The Italian ambassador to Morocco, Pasquale Salzano, expressed his great pride for this distinction which highlights the quality of the common work and the richness of cultural relations between the two countries. search for harmony, considering this prize as an encouragement to future initiatives strengthening cultural cooperation between Morocco and Italy

For his part, the president of the Esprit de Fez Foundation, Abdelrafie Zouiten, considered that this international recognition constitutes a great honor for the festival and confirms its message based on the dissemination of the values of tolerance and peace, The director of the Italian Cultural Institute, Carmela Calia, also affirmed that this prize celebrates a unique mixture bringing together the rites of the Virgin by Monteverdi and Andalusian music in the historic space of Bab Makina, illustrating the capacity of art to bring civilizations together despite their cultural differences

Through this new success, Fez continues to strengthen its position as a city of spiritual dialogue through the ages. The Spirit of Fez Foundation has reaffirmed the historical role of the city as a crossroads of civilizations and a center of cultural exchange

Since its creation in 1994, the Spiritual Music Festival continues to consolidate this role by offering shows bringing together the whole world on the same stage, once again confirming its international recognition as a major artistic space dedicated to spiritual encounter on a global scale