There will not be Vittorio Sgarbi to the Book Fair 2024. As a candidate for the Brothers of Italy in the Southern Italy constituency in the European elections, the writer and art critic will not participate in the Turin book festival.
“It is with great bitterness – comments Sgarbi in a press note – that I learn of the cancellation of the presentation of my book on Michelangelo Amazement and Fear (published by La nave di Teseo) at the Turin Book Fair, scheduled for Sunday 12th. The publishing house reassures me that it is not a question of personal censorship (for which to shout against the regime like Scurati), but of an unwritten rule which provides that those who are candidates for elections (I imagine of any type) under a level playing field cannot present a book“.
Sgarbi explains: “I have not missed the Turin event (with related presentations) for 36 years, and I am sure that in many years I will have come across electoral opportunities. The coercive measure with its restrictive interpretation also extended to non-televised occasions, for which a level playing field was created – I criticize – is a disturbing signal for the recognized opposition between politics and culture, of which I have been a victim in recent times“.
For her part, on the sidelines of the inauguration press conference, the director of the Show, Annalena Beninireiterated that “the political candidates, it seems to me also a question of elegance, cannot present the books, but the Salon is open to all and we will welcome everyone with joy”.
