What remains of the fifth edition of NapoliCittàLibro? For a real new development of reading and publishing in the Southern regions, could we think of bringing all forces together to create a single large book fair for Naples and therefore for the whole of the South?
It arrived in port and took place in the archive fifth edition of NapoliCittàLibrostaged at the Maritime Station of Naples, in the shadow of the Maschio Angioino and with a beautiful view of the Gulf, from 14 to 16 June 2024.
What remains of the event which in its intentions and subtitle is intended to be the Book and Publishing Fair of Naples, the most populous city in the South, and therefore in the whole of Southern Italy?
Numbers and critical issues of NapoliCittàLibro
Organized by Alessandro Polidoro and Rosario Bianco, the festival also welcomed international and international guests the enthusiasm conferred by 15,000 visitors counted in the three days of the review – as communicated in the final note of the review – is already thinking about the next edition. The impression left by the event, however, was that of uno potentially more thunderous space of what did not emerge from the latest edition of the Neapolitan literary review.
Window for small publishers, debut and little-known authors and for reading groups, the hard core of the country’s readers, never very many, NapoliCittàLibro 2024 appeared excessively freed from a general coordination, managed, within the spaces of the Maritime Station, once acceptance was passed, by a small platoon of young volunteers, good, very good, kind, very kind, but, rightly given the green age , devoid of that malice, that ability to solve small problems and inconveniences, which are physiological in a cultural event of considerable size. In fact, at first glance, the young arms of NapoliCittàLibro seemed a little abandoned to themselves, without a mother hen to show them the way.
Is the reflected light of Turin and Rome better?
Deserted by the big brands, the giants of Italian publishing, the Neapolitan showcase for small and medium-sized publishers is far more exclusive, but certainly not comparable to the numbers of the Turin International Book Fair and Più libripiù liberi in Rome. So the question arises spontaneously: net of the certainly different costs, is it better the pale ray of light that filters through the lowered shutters of the most famous publishers who dominate the Turin and Roman stages or the place in the sun, exclusive but on the outskirts – editorial, of course – from Naples? And we want the question to remain suspended – because we only intend to generate questions and reflections – so that it can hover in the air and reach other minds.
Three book fairs are too many
Collecting some voices in the rooms of the Salon, one point quickly emerges: three book fairs are considered too many in Naples – in addition to NapoliCittàLibro, there are many more I’ll start again with books (the tenth edition is expected at the Archives of the Campania capital in September) e Campania Books Festival (at Palazzo Reale from 4th to 6th October). Three events dedicated to books and publishers perceived as an excess for a not so large audience, which, despite the numbers provided by the organisation, did not fully convince the publishers hosted in the stands of the Maritime Station; and yet the three days of the festival fell on a completely summer weekend.
A single large book fair for the South
For a new real development of reading and publishing in the Southern regions, could we think of bringing all our forces together to create a single large book fair in Naples and therefore in the whole of the South? This is the thought that, albeit with little conviction, emerges at the end of every conversation with publishers or managers of the stands present at the Naples event. A thought that we could soon also hopefully promote?
Antonio Pagliuso
