There is Yrnm, as the ancient Phoenicians called the Island of Pantelleria, a land of capers and passito which preserves one of the most important but least known archaeological areas of the Mediterranean. And there is Lake Iznik, in Turkey, which has yielded the submerged remains of a 4th century Byzantine basilica.
From cinema to archaeology, from literature to current affairs, the program of the Aquileia Film Festival 2024, now in its fifteenth edition, lists the protagonists of the six evenings which, from 30 July to 6 August, throughout the summer, will entertain the public in the evocative setting of Piazza Campidoglio.
Organized by the Aquileia Foundation with Archeologia Viva and Firenze Archeofilm, in collaboration with the Municipality of Aquileia, the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, the Superintendency of Archeology, Fine Arts and Landscape of FVG, the So.Co.Ba. Foundation, the FVG Regional Museums Directorate and the National Archaeological Museum of Aquileia, the event is organized with the support of PromoTurismoFVG and Cassa Rurale FVG, and with the patronage of ENIT - National Tourism Agency.

The public will be asked to vote for the winner of the Aquileia Prize, a mosaic created by the Scuola Mosaicisti del Friuli which will be delivered on the evening of Friday 2 August.

The marathon to discover the films in competition, selected from the best titles of international film production with an archaeological and historical theme, begins on Tuesday 30 July at 9pm. Mesopotamia, the rediscovery of Iraq's treasures tells of the return of archaeologists to the main sites of the country after an absence lasting 50 years, and in a context of post-war reconstruction. A return that is inaugurating a new era in the archeology of Mesopotamia. This will be followed by a conversation with Daniele Morandi Bonacossi, full professor of Archeology and Art History of the Ancient Near East at the University of Udine.
The second part of the evening will see the screening of Persepolis: Delirium of Grandeur, directed by Angèle Berland. Dreamed of as a real Garden of Eden, Persepolis, in Iran, is the city of excess and one of the nerve centers of the Empire, which, through archaeological discoveries, has revealed quite a few mysteries on which the film seeks to shed light .



Aquileia, Piazza Capitolo. Photo G. Baronchelli


Venice will instead be the protagonist of the screening which will take place on Wednesday 31 July. Directed by Duncan Bulling, Saving Venice describes a Venice whose existence is in the balance, threatened by climate change, rising sea levels and increasingly frequent and extreme flooding, while salt is inexorably eroding the bricks, mortar and stone of city buildings. Will scientists and engineers be able to find a way to protect this treasure chest of architecture and beauty?
After the film, a conversation with Emilio Casalini, television presenter, journalist, writer and cultural planner, will try to find an answer.

Philae, the submerged sanctuary is the title of the second screening of the evening, a plunge into the rock that rises from the Nile and which has fascinated travelers for centuries. Here the rulers had monumental sanctuaries built. An international campaign has set itself the objective of dismantling the monuments and rebuilding them on a nearby island, in order to save the precious remains from the rise in water levels after the construction of the dams. In the film, interviews with former rescuers are intertwined with those of today's Egyptologists who are still exploring the ruins.

On Thursday 1st August at 9pm the spectators of Aquileia will ideally fly to Pantelleria. The film The Land of Yrnm explores one of the most important but least known archaeological areas of the Mediterranean. For 20 years archaeologists and students have been traveling from all over the world to the Sicilian island to reopen the excavations interrupted the previous year. Accompanying their research and dissemination activity is the story of Sebastiano Tusa, an internationally renowned archaeologist who died prematurely.
At the end of the film, a debate will follow with Rita Auriemma, archaeologist, associate professor at the Department of Cultural Heritage of the University of Salento.

Iznik, the submerged enigma will instead guide us to Türkiye. In 2014, a routine reconnaissance flight over Lake Iznik unexpectedly revealed the submerged remains of a 4th-century Byzantine basilica. This discovery prompted international scientists to investigate the history and geology behind the disappearance of a church built in the ancient Roman city of Nicaea, now known as Iznik. How and why was it destroyed? Shedding light on the matter, between Turkey, France, England and the Vatican, is a world-famous team that guides us in the excavation of this underwater treasure.



The public at the Aquileia Film Festival | Courtesy Fondazione Aquileia


The Evening out of competition, Friday 2 August, is dedicated to Zeno's Quell'incosciente. Published in 1923 by Italo Svevo, the novel “Zeno's Conscience” has something special that makes it still relevant. Three characters, a writer (Mauro Covacich), a professor of contemporary literature (Maria Cristina Benussi) and the head of the Sveviano Museum (Riccardo Cepach), in their Trieste, ask themselves ironically why such an unlikely novel continues to represent a point of reference in Italian and international literature.

The evening will end with the awarding of the Aquileia Award to the film most voted by the public and with a conversation with Paolo Mieli.

The second evening out of competition, Monday 5 August, at 9pm, will lead the public among statues, sphinxes, sarcophagi and small amulets, face to face with Egyptian mythology and worship. Men and Gods. The wonders of the Egyptian Museum, an event film directed by Michele Mally, will not only accompany the public on a discovery of the Egyptian Museum in Turin, but will bring to life this fascinating civilization intertwined with the history of the museum, founded in 1824. The journey through time will continue with visiting iconic places such as Giza, Thebes and the village of Deir el-Medina, inhabited by the scribes and artisans of the tombs of the Valley of the Kings and Queens. Guest of the evening will be Christian Greco, director of the Egyptian Museum since 2014.


Aquileia, Basilica Patriarcale. Photo G. Baronchelli


The closing event of the Aquileia Film Festival 2024, Tuesday 6 August, is entrusted to maestro Riccardo Muti who, in Aquileia, last 14 June, had conducted the Concert for Peace giving, with the Cherubini Youth Orchestra of Ravenna and with Vienna Philharmonic soloist Daniel Ottensamer, an unforgettable experience.

In the heart of the Patriarchal Basilica, the first screening of that event will give life to a dialogue between music and history to pay homage to peace.