The Turin Book Fair will open on Thursday and you can bet which will be a triumph. Every year, moreover, the audience and the takings grow, as does the enthusiasm of the employees, publishers, organizers, writers and administrators. The online magazine ilLibraior
.it published a month ago the inevitably partial list of literary festivals, prizes and book fairs held in Italy during the year. To the approximately twenty monthly events reported, we could add, by guessing, as many and certainly more if we count the smaller ones.
But in short, we have many appointments in Milan, many in Rome, different in Turin, Florence, Venice, Naples, and then the magnificent days of Mantua and Pordenone, but also those of Modena, Salerno, Taormina, Gorizia, Cremona, Pistoia, Cagliari, Genoa , of Ragusa, of Perugia, of Ivrea, of Palermo, of Empoli, of Cuneo, of Ravenna, of Lugo, of Isernia, of Terni, of Bassano del Grappa, of Treviso, of Fano, of Crema, of Orbetello, of Carmagnola , of Ameno, of Rimini, of Cattolica, of Lecce, of Pesaro, of Trani, of Trieste, of Reggio Emilia, of Rovigo, of Suzzara, of Verbania, of Pienza, of Pomigliano d’Arco… You could even play a game : point your finger at a random municipality and go and check on the internet if that municipality can boast a book festival not reported by ilLibraio.it. You will probably have some nice surprises. And you will find that almost all of them show higher numbers each year than the previous year.
The 2021 Show announced the record figure of 150 thousand visitors, the 2022 edition a new record of 168 thousand visitors, the 2023 edition a new record of 215 thousand visitors. These reviews, say sociologists, are opportunities for aggregation and recognition, opportunities we increasingly feel the need for, regardless of the book. Ernesto Ferrero, director for years in Turin, said (he will rightly be remembered in a meeting): «This desire to be present at major cultural events reveals a political passion not satisfied by anyone. It’s like an offer of availability, a need for commitment that isn’t listened to elsewhere.” Going forward like this and considering the demographic decline, around 2080 almost the entire Italian population will meet at the Lingotto (deserted polling stations, and perhaps even the bookshops).
May 6, 2024 (modified May 6, 2024 | 9:50 pm)
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