President Sergio Mattarella on
Thursday hailed the return of the Turin Book Fair after its
cancellation during the COVID-19 pandemic last year.
"The Book Fair is a fundamental appointment for our country's
cultural life," he said in a message to organizers of the event
which opened in Turin Thursday.
"Its in-person return after the tormented period of the pandemic
is a cause of great satisfaction for all.
"During the COVID emergency books have been for many citizens a
refuge, an ally, a weapon against solitude and dismay, and when
we were forced to distance from others, books allowed us to get
close to new stories, different characters, and unexplored
worlds".
Turin's outgoing mayor, Chiara Appendino, said this year's fair
was the "edition of the country's rebirth".
She said "never as now do we need culture as a weapon against
violence".
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