Italy is guest of honour at this year's Prague International Book Fair, taking place from Thursday to Sunday, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Dedicated to international publishing and literature, the 27th edition of the fair will showcase high-profile authors and works. Two new translations of works by Italo Calvino - 'Palomar' and 'Le Cosicomiche' - will be presented, as well as literature classics, including works by Elsa Morante, with the presentation of the first Czech translation of 'L'Isola di Arturo'.
Donatella Di Pietrantonio, Viola Ardone and Stefania Auci and Claudia Durastanti, Gianfranco Calligarich are among prominent Italian authors attending the event. Auci will present the Czech translation of her book 'L’inverno dei leoni' at the fair.
The choice of Italy as the guest of honour also intends to mark an important anniversary for the Italian Cultural Institute, which has been operating in Prague for over 100 years, according to the statement.
It has been "a century of cooperation that confirms the enduring and constantly fervent cultural relations between the two countries," the statement noted.
This year's book fair celebrates the 90th anniversary of the birth of world-renowned novelist, essayist and semiologist Umberto Eco. As a tribute, the fair has chosen a quote from Eco's novel 'The Name of the Rose' as the as the motto for this year’s edition: “We live for books. A sweet mission in this world dominated by disorder and decay”.
