The Italian participation to the 44th Cairo International Book Fair – the biggest and most important editorial show-case of the African continent - will be particularly devoted to the literature and its ties with cinema. It will take place in the Egyptian capital from January 23rd to February 5th, 2013 with the participation of more than 50 countries, particularly from the Arab world. Together with the presentation of the most recent translations into Arabic of important classics of Italian literature - as “I Malavoglia” by Giovanni Verga, “Cristo si è fermato ad Eboli” by Carlo Levi, “Cronaca familiare” by Vasco Pratolini, translations of well-known living authors will be presented, as “La lunga vita di Marianna Ucrìa” by Dacia Maraini, “Lo spazio bianco” by Valeria Parrella, “Io non ho paura” by Nicolò Ammaniti. The program includes also screening of movies by Franco Rosi, Roberto Faenza, Francesca Comencini inspired by novels from Levi, Ammanniti, Maraini and Parrella.
In addition to the several books of fiction, poetry and theatre, the Italian stand present in the Fair Ground – curated by the Embassy of Italy and the Italian Cultural Institute, in collaboration with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs - will display also art and archeological books (coming from the precious collection of the Italian Archeological Center in Cairo), books on history, science, economy and videos published by the very active Italian Cooperation in Egypt.
Among the 18 events present in the programme, an important preview will take place on Tuesday January 22, 2012 at 7:00 PM with the opening at the Italian Cultural Institute of the water-paint exhibition inspired by Dante's “Divina Commedia” curated by the poet and critic Franco Cajani and the Fondazione Sassu on the occasion of the birth's anniversary of this very important Italian artist. During the evening – entirely devoted to Dante - the programme of the Fair will be announced. Alessandro Quasimodo, son of the Nobel awarded Salvatore Quasimodo, will read few passages of the Divine Comedy together with the students of the Cairo University's Italian department who will declaim the III Canto of the Hell at the presence of several students to whom the Italian participation to the Fair is particularly devoted. The Italian participation is intended in the framework of an articulate project to relaunch Italian books and literature among the young public.
The official opening of the Fair will take place on Wednesday January 23 at 10 AM in the Nasr City Fair Ground, with the participation of the Minister of Culture Mohamed Saber Arab. On that occasion there will be the presentation of the Project co-founded by the European Delegation in Egypt “KALAM LE-L-SHABAB. Words of the young. Youth, Creativity and Poetry in Today’s Egypt”. The Project envisages two festivals devoted to the poetic languages, workshops, contests, and a countless series of meetings that will start right inside the Fair's days with Dacia Maraini, Valeria Parrella and Alessandro Quasimodo participating to the meetings “I tell you a poem”. Among the many events, a couple of them will take place in Alexandria, in the Bibliotheca Alexandrina premises, and in Hurghada. Just to mention, the photographic exhibition “Evanescent borders. Faces and paths of Italy” by Nicola Giuseppe Smerilli, set up in the new Hurghada Cultural Center, and an archeological exhibition “The reliefs of Horemheb and Ptahemwia of the Civic Archeological Museum of Bologna” at the Italian Cultural Institute in Cairo.
Last but not least, the fair will feature the presentation of the Strega and Flaiano Prizes, with a rich exhibition of the related books, and the presentation on Thursday January 24 – on the Egyptian revolution's eve – of the interview book by Vincenzo Mattei “Voices of Tahrir square. Egypt between revolution, restoration and democracy”, with the participation of the author, of RAI journalist Marc Innaro, who wrote the book's preface, and of few protagonist of the Arab spring.
The piece above is an excerpt from a press release by IIC
For a full detailed programme of the event in Italian, English, and Arabic language, click here.
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