The reason that Mantua's Festivaletteratura, or Festival of Literature,
is special is explained by Fiorenza Brioni, the mayor of the city:
"Each year sees the return of the curiosity, the desire, and the
passion with which we experience these unique days. They always provide
precious experiences, a chance for deep study, dialogues between
different thoughts and cultures, and opportunities for conversation and
reflection, as well as moments full of relaxation and the great
pleasure of being together, in a way that is never trite."
Just as in earlier years, the twelfth presentation of the festival,
which lasted from September 3rd to 7th, 2008, turned all of Mantua,
including the historic city-center, the shops, the cafes, and the
restaurants, into a very lively place. There was a rich program of
meetings between authors and personalities from the world of culture,
all of them chosen out of curiosity and a desire to discover new
writers and new stories, but without neglecting well-established
authors, many of whom gladly return to Mantua each year.
First-time participants in the festival included Scott Turow,
Jonathan Safran Foer, Nicole Krauss, William Langewiesche, Eugenio
Scalfari, Paolo Villaggio, and Sebastian Faulks, the new author of the
James Bond stories. Special attention was paid to the centenary of the
birth of Cesare Pavese.
Moleskine was a participant this year
as well, with a personalized notebook given to all the authors and to
all the festival volunteers. The notebook was also on sale at the
festival bookshop. The notebook's paper band had a photo by Moreno
Gentili showing the outlines of Mantua's Palazzo della Ragione. The
cover had a drawing by the illustrator Nora Krug, whose work also
appeared on the festival guidebook.
For further info:
http://www.festivaletteratura.it/www.nora-krug.com
