Italian ambassador to Tehran Mauro Conciatori said he was impressed by the immense number of young visitors, during his visit to the 28th Tehran International Book Fair (TIBF) on Thursday.”Their large attendance shows they are deeply interested in books,” he said.
The Italian envoy who attended the Iran-Italy Cultural Exchange Conference, on the sidelines of the fair, said many of the Italian books are translated into Persian.”Italian literature seems to receive a lot of attention by visitors. We are eager to read Iranian texts and know Iran better,” he said, ISNA reported.
Italy’s participation in the fair is to help strengthen bilateral relations. “I can’t read Persian but the print and the paper show the quality of the books, indicating Iran’s capability in producing high quality books.”
Conciatori cited the central role of Iran in developing and expanding science in the world and said, “In ancient times, Iran supplied paper from China to Europe and also Italy through the Silk Road. This enabled us to write codes through which the expansion of knowledge became possible.” Without Iran, the world would not have achieved the scientific level of today, he said.
Minister of culture and Islamic guidance Ali Jannati’s visit to Italy, is evidence of the long history of relations between the two nations, he said, adding: “Long ago, our relations were limited to military interaction, but later it was replaced with cultural exchanges.” He believed that the culture of the two sides is closely tied and will further boost expansion of relations.”
Kids’ Literature
Roberta Chinni, project manager of Italy’s Bologna Book Fair, referred to the activities of Iranian illustrators and said: “We are familiar with the brilliant works of Iranian illustrators in the field of children’s literature.” She said Iranian artists have won many prizes for publishing and illustrating children books.” Iran pays great attention to this field and “that is actually the central focus of the TIBF.” Many Iranian illustrators have won prizes at book fairs.
The Bologna Children’s Book Fair is the world’s leading children’s publishing and multimedia products event held annually in April.
Every year in spring, publishers, authors, illustrators, literary agents, licensors and licensees, packagers, distributors, printers, booksellers and librarians companies connected to the publishing world meet in Bologna to sell and buy copyrights, establish new contacts and strengthen their professional relationships, develop new business opportunities, learn about the latest trends and developments and enjoy the best in children’s educational materials.
