Joy and great emotion for the inhabitants of Vibo Valentia. Minister Dario Franceschini proclaimed the city Calabrese "Italian Capital of the Book 2021". In tears Maria Limardo, mayor of Vibo Valentia who has personally committed herself to transform the dream into reality: "Our city, always last in the rankings, is proudly first this time".
The emotion of Mayor Limardo
Live Youtube, Maria Limardo expressed all her emotion for the proclamation of Vibo Valentia "Italian book capital 2021": "I am thrilled as never before it is a ransom for our community, city always last in all rankings, but which this time is proudly first. There are so many beautiful people here, people who read. And who writes. So now we are in the headlines: the beautiful one ". Vibo Valentia beat the candidates of Ariano Irpino, Caltanissetta, Campobasso, Cesena and Pontremoli. Previously it had passed the first selection which saw the participation of 23 cities that have chosen to undertake projects in support of reading. This is the goal of the “Book Capital” initiative, decided at the beginning of last year by the Ministry of Culture.
The reasons that allowed Vibo Valentia to win
With the final victory, Vibo Valentia may have a contribution of 500 thousand euros provided by the dicastery, through the Center for the Book and Reading. With the sum obtained you will be able 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. Minister Dario Franceschini underlined how Vibo Valentia stood out for the quality of the initiatives presented, presented with a clarity in which rigor and enthusiasm merge: 'the basic idea', it was written in the introduction to the winning project, 'is to forcefully make the book enter people's lives'.
The decision to award Vibo Valentia was unanimously taken by the whole jury, chaired by the president Romano Montroni. The same underlined how Italy has one of the lowest reading rates in Europe: “We must not waste resources, but rather optimize them by networking. The Book Capitals can play a crucial role ”.
