Greetings from the Authorities XXVI Edition 2018

On Friday, June 1st, 2018, for the first time, a new Document from the Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life was published by the Church, addressing the four illnesses that afflict sports activities: degradation of the body, doping, corruption, and uncontrollable fanaticism. The document proposes a Christian perspective on sports contained in the document titled “Giving the Best of Oneself”. This phrase is used by Pope Francis in the recent letter “Gaudete et Exsultate,” urging the Church to “deepen the close relationship between sports and life.”
I quote some passages from the Document: “Giving the best of oneself is a fundamental aspect in sports, for any athlete,” and when “one gives the best of oneself, one experiences the satisfaction and joy of personal fulfillment. It happens in life just as it happens in living the Christian faith.”
The Document is accompanied by a letter from Pope Francis, who emphasizes in the concluding part: “Sport is a rich source of values and virtues that help us improve as individuals. Like athletes during training, sports practice helps us give the best of ourselves, discover our limits without fear, and strive to improve every day.”
I wish everyone, organizers, coaches, doctors, and above all, the young athletes, to “give the best of themselves” to grow together, as a team, as true champions in life, contributing to building a new humanity capable of dialogue, walking in respect for the diversity and richness that each one possesses.

I embrace and bless you all.

† DON PINO Caiazzo

“A warm welcome to all the young athletes participating in the international event ‘Minibasket in Piazza,’ who, for the 26th time, have come to flood the streets and squares of the city of Matera with a festive atmosphere and contagious enthusiasm.

For a week, the City of Stones will be the backdrop for this extraordinary event that brings together young basketball players from all over the world, united by their love for sports and the desire to share an experience that becomes a moment of integration and mutual understanding.

Sport, with its universal language, its rules, team spirit, and respect for the opponent, represents an irreplaceable life lesson, to overcome the challenge of breaking down every barrier, whether geographical, political, religious, or cultural, becoming a catalyst for peace and brotherhood among peoples.

Special appreciation goes to all those who, in various capacities, have contributed to the complex organization of this great sporting event, and to all the guests with the hope that the days spent in Matera will remain etched in memory.

I wish all of you to live these tournament days with joy and serenity, marked by sportsmanship and friendship, and to treasure this experience as an important, additional piece of your growth journey.”

ANTONELLA Bellomo

“There is good news for all of us, and the one who announces it has the marvelous features of an angelic messenger who brings joy and happiness. Once again this year, we witness the miracle of a sweet invasion, as the streets of Matera are filled with a multitude of boys and girls from every corner of the world who come here, to our land, to celebrate and express their inexhaustible vitality. Each of them radiates smiles and greetings, offering emotions, warmth, sympathy, and plenty of love.

They are the young athletes, with their vibrant colors, who hold hands, united in a splendid circle dance, to celebrate the feast of a timeless and sincere friendship that flows through the veins of adolescent beauty, for those who, through sports, love life without hesitation or mental reservations.

They challenge each other fairly and peacefully on the basketball court, throwing a ball that each of them wishes would always hit the mark, swelling the net of a tight hoop. Thus returns the magic of ‘Minibasket in Piazza,’ which is not just any International Tournament because it manages to unite, under the sign of genuine brotherhood, distant and sometimes hostile peoples who, arriving in Matera, set aside hostilities to embrace in a fraternal hug that only the miracle of innocence and purity of each of them can offer.

In its extraordinary simplicity, the teaching is sublime and translates into an invitation to not conform to the rules of human misery that prevail in this world blinded by hatred and selfishness, so that this time does not pass without us cultivating and practicing the hope of being transformed and renewed in our minds and souls, to experience firsthand the deep love that unites men of every nation.

And these young boys and girls, who noisily and irreverently traverse the city streets, are the foundations of a fantastic dream that finally comes true for our salvation.

Best wishes, and may the best one win!”

PAOLO Sirna

“As president of the Region and first and foremost as a sports enthusiast, I applaud and am extremely happy for the initiative of Minibasket in Piazza in Matera, where the youngest, in an open space, engage in playing ‘like adults,’ strengthening the fundamental values of sports. Our young people will treasure this exciting experience, which will see them play this time, not on a sports field or in a gymnasium, but in an unusual way, in the square which has always been a public space for being together.

All those who participate have already won because they will have enjoyed being together, helping and comparing themselves. The memory of treading the ground of Matera in a historic moment for the city, a few months before being the European Capital of Culture in 2019, will remain forever in the adults of tomorrow.

A European city cannot overlook sports as a fundamental component of society, knowing how to appreciate, as has been the case for a long time, its educational significance that goes well beyond the culture of results and healthy competition. The Matera basketball tradition is now well known beyond borders, and even the ‘mini’ version has become a consolidated reality over time.

May this event also be an occasion for celebration for Matera and its citizens, and a further vehicle for promoting the wonderful and eternal city that it represents, a source of pride for Lucania, Italy, and Europe.”

MARCELLO Pittella

“I am particularly fond of basketball and it thrills and excites me, in the small pockets of time that my mayoral duties allow, to follow basketball games via video. Specifically, the ‘Minibasket in Piazza’ event embodies values of health, play, and community. It is an inclusive sport that involves fun and engaging physical activity, and fosters healthy leadership, respect for rules, as well as personal and group emotions in the children who participate. To compete in a confined space with the imperative of avoiding physical contact requires significant commitment, passion, talent, and dedication. These, among other things, seem to be the guidelines for a righteous and fruitful existence! As the Matera event celebrates its 26th year, it fills a city with pride, much like a game of minibasket brings people together. I wish this event a long and prosperous journey ahead.”

RAFFAELLO de Ruggieri

“Sport is one of the fundamental pieces of the rich mosaic we are assembling for 2019, when Matera will be the European Capital of Culture. That’s why, from the very beginning of this journey, first with the Matera2019 Committee and then with the Matera-Basilicata2019 Foundation, we have always supported minibasketball in the square. In particular, this project, which is also included in the candidacy dossier, is coherent with the work we are doing because it values ​​the role of the new generations in sports on one hand and allows young athletes to become temporary citizens of Matera on the other. Matera2019 has been working with young generations for some time now through various projects because it is thanks to their vision that we can build an open future. For example, with the initiative ‘Heritage at Play,’ we are involving 60 schools in Basilicata, both primary and secondary, to offer new opportunities in digital creativity. This is one of the legacies that Matera2019 intends to leave, namely the ability of today’s children to face the future with greater awareness and, why not, competence, through play and sports. We are also doing this with ‘Open Playful Space,’ an urban regeneration project that links culture, street sports, and street art co-produced by the Matera-Basilicata2019 Foundation and UISP together with national and international partners. It is one of the 27 projects we have selected, which will constitute 50 percent of the cultural program for 2019. We have indeed decided that local creative industries should seize the opportunity of Matera2019 to grow into an international dimension. With this experience, they will be able to compete with the best European practices and turn their passions into serious professional activities. This is another legacy that Matera2019 will leave behind. Minibasketball in the square fits perfectly into this context. We are very interested in the perception of the territory by young athletes. For this reason, the Matera Basilicata 2019 Foundation has organized a series of collateral activities for June 19, the sixth stage leading up to January 19, 2019, which will be enjoyed by both adults and children alike. We will bring to Matera the exhibition of the National Soccer Team, with which we will tell the 120 years of the Italian Football Federation, exhibiting trophies such as the four World Cups and the European Cup, as well as original jerseys of great players. Furthermore, always on the initiative of the Foundation, we have invited the coach of the basketball national team, Romeo Sacchetti, not for a simple presence, but to hold a lecture with the young athletes. Finally, in the evening, the great volleyball player Andrea Zorzi will perform a show combining the art of theater and the magic of sports.

These are appointments to which you are all invited, to be together and to feel like protagonists in this exhilarating journey.”

SALVATORE Adduce
President of Fondazione Matera Basilicata 2019

PAOLO Verri
General Manager of Fondazione Matera Basilicata 2019

“Nelson Mandela’s words are truly enlightening: ‘Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire, to unite people in a way that few others can. It speaks to youth in a language they understand.’

Mandela, an icon who believed in the disruptive power of sports as an extraordinary means to unite diverse peoples and cultures, found resonance in the ‘Minibasket in Piazza’ event since 1993, serving as an amplifier for thousands of young people from Italy and around the world.

Sport serves as a medium for conveying universal messages, transmitting the rules of social life and promoting fundamental educational values such as fair play, integration, tolerance, and teamwork at the heart of the ‘City of Stones,’ where differences have turned into dialogue, eroding anthropological barriers.

Matera, with its young people, has the right and duty to build upon sports practice, the enthusiasm, and warmth of the youth, creating a polis in the center where a new Capital can rise, not only of culture but of shared values. Basketball, like all sports, can exalt its identity, characterized by passion and sacrifice, but also by 26 editions of peace and brotherhood.

This commendable activity, built on dedication and a spirit of solidarity, has contributed to the formation of a cohesive and supportive community, in which the organizing society A.P.D. Pielle Matera, sponsors, volunteers, and athletes represent a unified entity.

Best wishes and long live sports!”

GIOVANNI Malagò

“Matera is a city that we feel closer to than ever before. As a UNESCO World Heritage site for its Sassi, the characteristic cave dwellings carved into the mountainside, it will be the European Capital of Culture in 2019: undoubtedly, it is a landmark and represents another magnificent way to express our Italian identity.

Matera is a bridge of history, but also a city looking toward the future. That future will be shaped by our young people, those who have participated in the Minibasket Tournament in the Square since 1993. It’s not just the name of an international tournament, but a tangible reality. The tournament festively occupies the historic center of the city, the outskirts, and neighboring towns with matches, but also and above all, with the peaceful invasion of mini-basketball players who are adopted and cherished by the people of Matera. It started as a commendable initiative by a group of friends, and now it has gained notoriety that transcends national borders with meticulous organization.

The tournament involves a large number of young people being hosted in the homes of their peers. The spirit of the game reigns over everything, with its universal language and competitiveness expressed within the framework of respect for rules, through our minibasket which serves as an educational moment for sporting and social growth.

The Minibasket Tournament in the Square has been going on for twenty-six years. During the first edition, the internet was an option for a few, just as the cell phone was not easily fitting into pockets. Sergio Galante, his team, and the Pielle Matera society deserve praise for persevering over time, for continuing to organize this tournament which requires extra efforts every year, yet never straying from its founding and educational values.”

GIOVANNI Petrucci

Dear all,

It’s wonderful to come together annually for events that bring glory to the sport of our region.

The 26th edition of the Minibasket in the Square marks a unique moment, solidified over time, where the values of hospitality, brotherhood, and belonging are exalted: those that make us feel like children of this land but also European and global citizens.

Matera is not only a place of scenic splendor but also a city of values, considering the human and moral qualities that characterize its people. It’s a perfect blend of man and nature that has contributed to making it a dynamic city deserving of the title of European Capital of Culture 2019.

In all this, great credit is due to the sportsmen, always capable of fitting into any context to exalt the values they represent. This is us, this is you, dear friends of Pielle.

I extend my heartfelt gratitude to you on behalf of the entire sports community of Lucania, which I am honored to represent, for this splendid initiative aimed at an age group deserving of consideration and attention, as they are the ones preparing the men of tomorrow.

The organizational capacity with which you measure yourselves annually has made this event unique in the world, so much so that it is the ambition and destination of many clubs, even beyond the European continent.

My best wishes are directed to you for this yet another new adventure. May this be a moment of further growth and enrichment of that heritage of sports and cultural experience that characterizes your desire to continually raise this event higher.

Congratulations and thank you for your dedication!

LEOPOLDO Desiderio

To all participants:

The time has come again for the International Tournament “Minibasket in Piazza”: an event that epitomizes the passion for basketball in our region.

On behalf of the Regional Committee FIP Basilicata and myself, I greet all participants who will be guests of the City of Matera from June 17th to 23rd, 2018, and I wish them a wonderful week filled with basketball.

Enjoy the fun, everyone!

“If it is true, as it is indeed, that sport, interpreted in a fair and pure manner, is a deeply social and cultural phenomenon, then I can say that the collaboration between Bitonto and Matera continues pleasantly and fruitfully. In fact, in the name of brotherhood and sharing, there had already been a twinning between the two Capitals of Culture, the one from the South and the one from Europe for 2019. Thus, today, through basketball – and thanks to the commitment of the historic Sporting Club – we can further strengthen this “sympathetic” closeness to the City of Stones.

“Minibasket in Piazza,” indeed, with significant matches also taking place in the center of Bitonto, is an event of great ethical value, not just sporting, and it projects all those who participate – mini-athletes, young coaches, and families from every nation – towards a sense of citizenship that we can define as global.

In short, it’s a journey into the future marked by the most authentic sport, never forgetting the wonders left to us by our ancestors. So, best wishes for a good tip-off to everyone, and never stop dreaming and having fun!”

MICHELE Abbaticchio

This is not just an institutional greeting, but a genuine “embrace” that I extend to all participants in the 26th edition of the International Tournament “Minibasket in Piazza,” which also involves the children of my city. I am truly delighted to express my excitement in greeting the organization of this tournament, which deserves applause for the beauty it radiates, the passionate people who participate, and the various communities that come together to convey through this sporting activity a different atmosphere and universal values.

The importance of this event lies not only in the competition but also and above all in being together and in the ability to create a splendid cultural and social exchange: minibasketball in the European Capital of Culture 2019 goes beyond sports, and the children understand not only on the field that events like this can convey a clear message of joy, because the community and the hospitality they receive are clear examples of it. To them, I say: uphold the true values of life such as respect, sharing, and studying, because the future needs educated youth, and consider sports as a point of comparison, not only competitive but also of knowledge.

Events like this truly leave something in the souls of the children, beyond the sporting activity, because firstly it’s wonderful to have the opportunity to interact with people from all over the world and engage in dialogue with them.

MASSIMO Mazzilli

“Welcome to Bitritto! Dobrodošli u Bitritto!

On behalf of the entire Municipal Administration and the entire community, I express our pride in hosting, once again, in Bitritto, after four long years, the “Minibasket in the Square” event.

A week of friendship, fun, sports, sharing, cultural exchange, and healthy competition. A week to continue cultivating those healthy values that sports, especially those practiced by children, masterfully convey. Bitritto and its Municipal Administration, which I represent, will certainly do its part to contribute to shaping the future citizens of the world, so that they become ambassadors of the same values they will demonstrate throughout the tournament.

Our square will warmly welcome all mini-basketball players, including those from Pol. Basket Bitritto, to whose instructors and leaders I extend my praise for the splendid work they have done. A special greeting, if I may, to the little ones from Sarajevo, who are now at home here in Bitritto, with the hope that the bond between our town and their city can take the shape it deserves.

Bitritto is ready to become a square of the world! Good tournament to everyone!”

PINO Giulitto

“We are happy and honored to host for the second consecutive year the Minibasket in Piazza event organized by Pielle Matera. Montescaglioso is ready to welcome young basketball players from all over the world: as administrators and as parents, we are convinced that the exchange of cultures and friendships helps to cultivate the new generations with a mindset open to perspectives of civil and peaceful coexistence.”

VINCENZO Zito