EVENTS – The Italian Jewish Book Festival Sparks Interest and Curiosity

By Sharon Reichel

The city of Ferrara is getting ready to host, from April 26th to May 1rst, the fifth edition of the Festa del Libro Ebraico in Italia, the established Jewish book fair organized by Fondazione MEIS (the National Museum of Italian Judaism and the Shoah Foundation).

The Festa del Libro Ebraico aims to present to the public the cultural products regarding Jewish life in Italy, mainly through a remarkably rich output of books on Jewish themes, but also through the organization of a diversified program that includes concerts, theatre productions, exhibits, debates, food tastings and much more.

This year’s main exhibit, organized by the MEIS, in collaboration with Museo Luzzati (Genoa), will focus on Jewish themes in the works of Emanuele Luzzatti (1921-2007) – artist, set designer, director and Academy Awards nominated animator.

The book fair events will take place mornings, afternoons and evenings all over Ferrara, sparking careful considerations and debates on Italian Judaism from different perspectives, from a two-day symposium on Conversos, Marranos and the New Jewish Communities in Early Modern Times, conceived by Myriam Silvera (University of Rome, Tor Vergata) with the participation of major Italian and international scholars; to an homage to the late Arnoldo Foà by the Fondazione Teatro Comunale (Foundation City Theater); as well as a presentation of the recent discovery, by professor Mauro Perani, of the most ancient complete Torah Scroll (XII-XIII century) in the Library of the University of Bologna.

The book fair is organized by Fondazione MEIS with the support of Ferrara Fiere and the sponsorship of the Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali, Regione Emilia-Romagna, Provincia and Comune of Ferrara, University of Ferrara, The Union of Italian Jewish Communities and the Jewish Community of Ferrara.