Vibo Valentia | Book Capitial of Italy 2021

But
let’s take a step back. To explain that this “Capital of the lbro” is a
very recent initiative of the Ministry of Culture, decided at the
beginning of last year to encourage Italian municipalities to undertake
projects to support reading. In the 2021 edition 23 took part, and six
reached the final: over Vibo, Ariano Irpino, Caltanissetta, Campobasso,
Cesena and Pontremoli. Here we already see a prevalence of the South
over the North, then confirmed by the final choice. In the Calabrian
city, a contribution of 500 thousand euros will now arrive from the
dicastery, through the Center for Book and Reading, to carry out the
programs presented to participate in the competition. Last year the
title went to the municipality of Chiari in the province of Brescia, one
of the places most affected by the first Covid wave.

During the
proclamation of this year’s edition, which took place on the Ministry’s
YouTube channel, Franceschini congratulated all the finalists: “It’s
like the Oscars, it’s already a title to reach the final even if you
don’t win”. And he went on to say that “these procedures set in motion a
virtuous mechanism, such as the involvement of citizens, planning and
the intersection of public and private”. Conviction shared with the
president of the jury, Romano Montroni. Which also revealed how the
final decision “was taken unanimously”. And then he recalled that in a
country like ours, “which has one of the lowest reading index in Europe,
not wasting resources, but rather optimizing them by networking”, is
particularly important “: in this perspective, he concluded , the Book
Capitals can play a crucial role.