The fourth edition of the Catania Book Festival will be held from 5 to 7 May “and promises to be, once again this year, a riot of meetings and events dedicated to reading for everyone”. With an unprecedented novelty: the event will welcome the first national stage of the Strega Tour, hosting the dozen writers who compete for the prestigious Italian literary prize. An absolute first time on the island for the historic competition of the Bellonci Foundation which has chosen Catania and its Festival most loved by readers, especially young people.
The 2023 edition of the Catania Book Festival was presented this morning at Le Ciminiere by its creator and director, Simone Dei Pieri, together with the professor Marco Lo Curzio, coordinator of the Academy’s Department of Design and Applied Arts, representing the Academy of Fine Arts of Catania which collaborates and sponsors the event, Angelo Carbone for the Metropolitan City. There are already 150 events distributed over the 3 days of the event and Salvino Maltese, director of the museum complex of Le Ciminiere. The meeting opened with a moving remembrance of Ada D’Adamo, the writer who died a few days ago whose novel, “Come d’aria”, appears among the semifinalists in the running for the 77th edition of the Strega Prize.
“It would have been nice to talk about it together, in a few weeks, in Catania, starting with her a journey so full of stories – said Dei Pieri – It is also in the name of this author that she left us and for those who, like her, believed and believes in the power of writing and storytelling, that we will do our best for the Catania Book Festival. The festival team has never stopped working in the last 12 months and we breathe an atmosphere of great enthusiasm. Above all, we don’t want to disappoint visitors – last year there were no less than 9,000 – and for this reason we have aimed to improve ourselves, even doubling the spaces of the Festival. The program is already complete and we already have confirmations of important names who will not disappoint visitors’ expectations”.
The reference is therefore to the semi-finalist authors of the Strega Prize, Silvia Ballestra, Maria Grazia Calandrone, Andrea Canobbio, Gian Marco Griffi, Vincenzo Latronico, Romana Petri, Rosella Postorino, Igiaba Scego, Andrea Tarabbia, Maddalena Vaglio Tanet, Carmen Verde, who will sit on the podium. But among the guests there will also be pop authors and authors loved by the public, such as Rocco Tanica, Marco Ligabue, Joe Bastianich, Daniela Collu, Norma Cerletti, Massimo Bisotti, Beatrice Cristalli, Danilo Bertazzi, Giulia Pompili and many others. Among the Sicilian guests, the writer from Catania Barbara Bellomo and the journalist and essayist from Palermo, Gaetano Pecoraro. The theme of the new Catania Book Festival is “The Discovery”, and it was illustrated through the poster created by Wallie (Walter Petrone), a talented Italian artist and graphic novelist.
“The image of a young man immersed in reading, lying on a fascinating micro world made of magical creatures and dreamlike places, represents the enchantment of the stories that cross our lives – continues the director of the Catania Book Festival – often changing them. Someone still wonders what to read. There are many answers: it helps to think for yourself, to improve our critical skills, and also to imagine other worlds. In a nutshell, by reading it is possible to discover new aspects of reality but also to discover oneself better”. The festival has doubled the spaces and inserted two areas, “Mercurio” and “Diana”, assigning them respectively to outdoor activities and workshops. this year large space will be ensured for independent publishers who wish to exhibit and promote their books (there are already about thirty exhibitors).
Among the confirmed exhibitions there is also the one organized by Amnesty International entitled “How were you dressed”, which tells stories of abuse through the clothes on display that represent the clothing that the victim wore at the time of the violence suffered; and an exhibition organized by the Academy of Fine Arts in Catania, dedicated to the great Gianni Rodari. “The Catania Academy of Fine Arts – comment the president and director, Lina Scalisi and Gianni Latino – sponsors the Catania Book Festival 2023 by supporting and integrating the initiatives that enrich the city’s cultural offer. For the occasion, in addition to making known the educational offer of the Communication Design and Publishing Design courses, we will curate an exhibition of illustrated books, designed by teachers and students of the Design and Graphics and Illustration courses in the context of a contest, coordinated by prof. Marco Lo Curzio and launched in 2020 for the centenary of the birth of Gianni Rodari. Fifty small albums on display”. Admission to the Le Ciminiere museums will be included in the ticket price: it is a way to promote the city, broaden horizons and remember history.