The Italian Ambassador to Athens Paolo Cuculi, together with the Greek Deputy Minister of Culture, Iason Fotilas, inaugurated the twenty-first edition of the Thessaloniki International Book Fair, the main publishing fair in Greece, where Italy is the guest of honour for the first time. The ceremony was also attended by the President of the Italian Publishers Association, Innocenzo Cipolletta, and representatives from local authorities and the Greek and European publishing world.
Italy is present in Thessaloniki with over 50 speakers, 16 publishers and 3 exhibitions, a promotional pavilion created by ITA and a rich cultural program, with the evocative theme “Orizzonti Vicini” (Shared Horizons), which recalls the solid cultural bond that unites the two Mediterranean countries.
For Ambassador Cuculi, “the Thessaloniki International Book Fair is an exceptional opportunity to celebrate Italy and its publishing world, with an extraordinary participation of writers and publishing houses, bearing witness to the strong mutual interest that unites our country to Greece and the great influence that Italian culture exerts in the world.
The participation of the Italian authors in the program is very authoritative and includes Beatrice Bandiera, Marta Barone, Roberto Camurri, Vinicio Capossela, Silvia Ferrara, Andrea Franzoso, Luigi Guarnieri, Antonio Manzini, Andrea Marcolongo, Melania Mazzucco, Matteo Nucci, Aurelio Picca, Marco Steiner, Matteo Strukul and Stefano Sturloni, and the Italian publishing houses present in Thessaloniki are Acoma Book, Agenzia Alferj, Besa Muci, Camelozampa, Claudio Grenzi Editore, Erickson, Feltrinelli/Crocetti, Garzanti, Giulio Einaudi Editore, Giunti Editore, Il Castoro, Ischirè, IT Publishing, Kurumuny, Les Flaneurs Edizioni, Mondadori Libri, Reggio Children, Sfera Edizioni, Tomolo EdiGio’ Edizioni.
The synergy of the “Italian System” operating in Greece is strong, with an effective collaboration between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Italian Embassy in Athens and the Italian Cultural Institute in Athens, the Ministry of Culture with the Centre for Books and Reading, ITA – Agency for the promotion and the internationalization of Italian companies and the Italian Publishers’ Association. Equally strong is the collaboration with the Greek authorities, and particularly with the Ministry of Culture and the Foundation for Books and Culture.
