Mattarella hails return of Turin Book Fair

(ANSA) - ROME, OCT 14 - 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". (ANSA).