Half a century of posters of Bordighera International Humor Exhibition, signed by the most prestigious designers of the time, symbol of an event that marked Liguria on a global level. They have been collected in a volume entitled “Smile, you’re in Bordighera!” published by De Ferrari and presented this morning at the headquarters of the Liguria Region, to enhance and remember an event that represented Italy, coinciding with all aspects of the economic-social and cultural recovery after the Second World War. The presentation was attended by, among others, the councilor of the Municipality of Bordighera Martina Sferrazza, the journalist and writer Paolo Lingua, Claudio Marchiori, president of the Salone dell’Umorismo Association and Gigia and Rossella Perfetto, daughters of the founder Cesare.
“An important text presented today at the Hall of Transparency – said the interim president of the Liguria Region Alessandro Piana – so much so as to reconstruct with originality and with unpublished details the history of the Bordighera International Humor Exhibition and its links with the evolution of customs, the social and cultural profile of recent decades. This is why it is important to focus on a work that makes us reflect on a historical cross-section and on an event of international level. I remember the ‘Palma d’Or’ award, but above all a figure of great importance such as the creator Cesare Perfetto (1919 – 2005) who, with the Salone Umorismo Association, contributed to making Bordighera increasingly known and appreciated far beyond the border . For this I thank the authors Gigia Perfetto and Claudio Marchiori who created the volume together with Paolo Lingua and Paola Biribanti, carrying forward a precious project to promote the territory while waiting for the new edition of the Festival”.
The volume contains the main posters that were created for the Salone from 1947 to 1997, a visual synthesis of themes that were increasingly involved on a social and cultural level, expressions of a series of personalities who made creativity their guiding star. From Peynet to Quino, from Mordillo to Cavallo, from Franco Bruna to the Origone brothers as many as there were designers awarded in the various editions of the Salon. A Salon that restarted after a few years of interruption in 2023 and is ready to reopen its doors.
