A flexible, dynamic and resonant symbol that captures the spirit of the Mediterranean.
Today, Saturday 4 October, in the Nelson Mandela Room of the Town Hall, the Municipality of Matera and the Matera Basilicata 2019 Foundation presented the official logo of Matera Mediterranean Capital of Culture and Dialogue 2026, designed by Studio FM in Milan and selected through a public competition promoted with the support of AIAP – Italian Association of Visual Communication Design.
The logo will be the graphic face with which Matera will present itself to the world in 2026, and will make its official debut at the TTG Travel Experience in Rimini, Italy’s most important tourism fair, scheduled for 8 to 10 October.
This will be the first national showcase for the Matera Mediterranean Capital of Culture and Dialogue 2026 project in its new visual guise: a public panel will be dedicated to the presentation of the programme and part of the promotional material will be produced with the new visual identity, previewed at today’s press conference.
The chosen logo is a lively, modular “M” that can take on different forms: more contracted, like a whisper; more extended, like a call; more regular, like a voice in conversation.
Its two lines meet and chase each other like sound waves, evoking both the Mediterranean landscape and the plurality of languages and cultures that inhabit it.
A simple but dense logo, open to interpretation, designed to adapt to the different visual languages that will animate 2026: events, posters, maps, objects, digital media.
‘With 2026,’ said Mayor Antonio Nicoletti, “Matera once again becomes a place where cultures intertwine, where dialogue builds bridges, and where our heritage is put at the service of dialogue, creativity and common growth. For our community, this means continuing the journey that began in 2019 with the European Capital of Culture experience, relaunching with renewed enthusiasm our ability to welcome, innovate and plan for the future. The logo will be the face of this shared adventure, a distinctive sign that will bring Matera’s identity and values to the Mediterranean and the world. I hope that the citizens of Matera will identify with this symbol and consider it, within the context of this experience, as a new sign of belonging’.
‘The visual identity we presented today is much more than a logo: it is a strong and recognisable symbol that tells the story of a city capable of listening, of speaking to the Mediterranean and presenting itself as a platform for encounter and shared vision,’ said Rita Orlando, cultural manager of the Matera Basilicata 2019 Foundation. ‘It is the result of an open, transparent process of the highest design quality, involving some of the best minds in contemporary design. A dynamic, accessible visual identity, destined to grow and transform alongside the cultural programme, becoming recognisable but never rigid.’
Eighty Italian and international studios and professionals responded to the public call. The call for proposals required the involvement of young people under the age of 25 in the creative teams. A committee of experts selected five finalists, who then developed the complete proposals evaluated in July 2025.
“It was an honour for AIAP to work alongside the Matera Basilicata 2019 Foundation and contribute to the success of the competition for the brand and visual identity of Matera Mediterranean Capital of Culture and Dialogue 2026,” commented Francesco Ermanno Guida, president of AIAP. “The Association, which celebrates its 80th anniversary this year, has always promoted transparent and rigorous criteria to ensure results that live up to expectations. With quality projects, effective communication strategies can be built, promoting Italian design excellence.
The competition saw the participation of authoritative studios, and the final result is proof of this: the winning project is signed by one of the most solid and innovative studios in Italy.”
‘We thought that the dialogue and sounds of the Mediterranean could be traced back to a single visual translation, capable of reflecting complexity in a simple way: sound waves,’ said Cristiano Bottino, founding partner of Studio FM. ‘Two lines that meet and intertwine, symbolising the dialogue between different cultures, in which sound takes shape and becomes a sign of identity for Matera, Mediterranean Capital of Culture and Dialogue 2026.’
