Foiano Book Festival: a month of Culture and Entertainment dedicated to Marco Polo's journey
From November 7 to December 5, the Foiano Book Festival celebrates its sixth edition with a program full of events dedicated to the theme of Marco Polo's journey, on the occasion of the 700th anniversary of his death. The festival, promoted by the Municipality of Foiano della Chiana and the Tuscany Region, includes book presentations, meetings with authors, concerts and shows.
Foiano Book Festival: a month of Culture and Entertainment dedicated to Marco Polo's journey.
The Foiano Book Festival celebrates its sixth edition this year. The exhibition promoted by the Municipality of Foiano della Chiana with the participation of the Tuscany Region to encourage meetings with national, emerging and independent authors, offers from 7 November to 5 December, book presentations, meetings with authors, debates, interviews, concerts, shows, exhibitions with the book as the main protagonist. The common thread of this edition will be Marco Polo with his 'Milione', which the Foiano Book Festival celebrates, seven hundred years after his death, for his lasting impact on literature, geography and world culture.
The event was presented yesterday, Wednesday 30 October, at Palazzo del Pegaso, in the presence of the President of the Regional Council, Antonio Mazzeo, the councilors Vincenzo Ceccarelli and Lucia De Robertis, with the mayor of Foiano della Chiana, Jacopo Franci, the municipal councilor for culture and tourism, Riccardo Reali, and Stefania Sandroni of Officine della Cultura.
“This Festival, although young, has already become a point of reference in the artistic and literary panorama of Tuscany”, says President Mazzeo. “The quality of the program, the important presences: the Festival is one of those fresh, dynamic, young initiatives that know how to involve the new generations. Every time there is a space in which there is investment in culture, in reading, there is a space of freedom and construction of critical consciousness that opens up for each of us. And taking a look at the program I see that the quality of the cultural offering improves year after year”.
For Vincenzo Ceccarelli, “the Municipality of Foiano is very active, committed and lively on the cultural front. The Book Festival will put writers, journalists, theater actors on stage, with a particular attention also to the writers of the Arezzo area and comes after the journalism award and the exhibition on the Della Robbia. Next year, probably, it will inaugurate also thanks to the contribution of the Region, the theater that is being restored and redeveloped. A great activity that deserves the support of the Region and, this is the hope, a great audience for the Festival”.
“It is a wonderful opportunity for our territory to listen and 'learn' to read again – adds Lucia De Robertis –. A 360-degree initiative, involving schools, that gives space to Arezzo writers. An excellent opportunity”.
The Festival will open with a special event on Friday November 7th at 18pm at the Collegiate Church of Saints Martin and Leonardo, where Don Luigi Ciotti will be a guest, who will talk with the journalist Saverio Tommasi on the themes of solidarity and humanity wounded by wars and violence.
In the beautiful rooms of the Furio del Furia and Carbonaia Gallery, we will find, Among the guests Cochi Ponzoni, who together with Paolo Crespi will retrace his extraordinary career, established actors such as Stefano Fresi and famous writers, including the winner of two “Strega” awards Sandro Veronesi and the 'Campiello' award winners Enrico Brizzi and Carmen Pellegrino.
The Festival will also offer space to Marco Vichi, Jacopo De Michelis, Beatrice Salvioni, Romana Petri and Valentina D'Urbano, together with prominent journalists such as Giovanni Floris and Anna Zafesova. Among the most anticipated names is the podcaster Stefano Nazzi, winner of the Italian Podcast Awards 2023 in the 'True Crime' category, and Gabriella Genisi, creator of the popular vice-questor Lolita Lobosco, played on TV with great success by Luisa Ranieri. In addition, Marco Carucci, an established musician and frontman of Ex-Otago, will present his first book. And again, we note the participation of the poet Luigi Nacci and Emanuele Aldrovandi, screenwriter and playwright awarded with the 'Nastro d'Argento'.
The closing, on Thursday 5 December, will be entrusted to music with a special concert by Sergio Cammariere.
“With this festival, which is establishing itself as an artistic event of great importance in Tuscany, Foiano della Chiana proposes itself as an exceptional stage for culture and creativity”, says Mayor Jacopo Franci. “This year we celebrate the fascinating theme of Marco Polo’s journey, an explorer who transformed curiosity into adventure and discovery into storytelling. For a month, Foiano will transform into a vibrant stage of words, sounds and colours, welcoming nationally renowned authors, artists, musicians and, above all, our enthusiastic audience. The FBF is not just a festival; it is an invitation to explore new horizons, reflect and be passionate about literature. Students from local schools will have the opportunity to participate in creative workshops and interactive meetings, also allowing new generations to discover the power of literature and art”.
For the artistic direction, Anna Cherubini focuses on one of the “peculiarity of our festival, its openness to different genres, reflecting the multiple trends and demands of a constantly evolving society. For this reason, our cast is heterogeneous but, at the same time, coherent. I am convinced that this year the FBF has made a significant leap forward, projecting our small city into the national panorama. I am certain that, as in the past, we will be able to count on an attentive and participating audience, ready to contribute to the success of this edition”.
And Luca 'Roccia' Baldini, from 'Officine della Cultura' adds that “With the 'Milione', Marco Polo opened the doors of a fascinating and unknown Orient to Europe. Through the theme of travel, the festival invites the public to explore not only new lands, but also ideas and emotions. In an age of global interconnection, his lesson still resonates: 700 years later, we still follow in the footsteps of Marco Polo, explorer of worlds and stories without borders”.
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