BCBF 2023, "Italian Excellence. Illustrations for Italo Calvino": Elena Pasoli's story

In a year of anniversaries, there had to be a tribute to one of the absolute protagonists of 20th century Italian literature: one hundred years after his birth, Bologna Children’s Book Fair is honouring Italo Calvino. "Italian Excellence. Illustrations for Italo Calvino" is an exhibition (curated by Accademia Drosselmeier/Cooperativa Giannino Stoppani and organised by the Emilia-Romagna Regional administration with the Bologna Children’s Book Fair and supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation) that places 120 illustrations dedicated to the great author’s work on display right at the heart of the fair. The works include contributions from established artists who have already published their interpretations of Calvino’s texts, and the 60 illustrations (2 for each illustrator) winners of a competition promoted by the Fair and open to the participation of candidates from all over the world, who wished to offer their personal visions of the characters, places and ideas in Calvino’s novels. The works on display have been collected in a bilingual (Italian and English) catalogue published by Mondadori. The exhibition can also be visited on the BCBF Galleries portal. After the fair, the exhibition will also be presented in Castiglione della Pescaia and Battipaglia, before embarking on an international tour thanks to the collaboration of the Italian Cultural Institutes network.