“I would be happy if we left our own recognisable mark with Frankfurt 2024”
“With this Frankfurt Book Fair 2023, our preparation phase is officially over. The race begins which after 36 years will see us as Guests of Honour here in Frankfurt in 2024.” With these words, Extraordinary Commissioner Mauro Mazza opens the press conference to present the motto and logo of the Italian participation as Guest of Honour 2024.
There is a great legacy to be inherited, building on the successes of this first edition, which was also the first year in which the Guest of Honour concept was introduced. Building as well on the achievements of the Italian literature and culture in general, without forgetting to reflect on the present and to look ahead to the future. Hence the choice of the motto – “Rooted in the future”. “The motto,” continues Mauro Mazza, “aims to convey a feeling for time in its three dimensions: the past as memory, the present as intuition, as a creative spark to get the best out of our past, out of our tradition, and to project ourselves toward the future that we hope will be better; a future that awaits a better tomorrow, a tomorrow that, with our goodwill, begins today.”
“I would be happy if we left our own recognisable mark with Frankfurt '24, as was the case in 1988. I imagine dozens and dozens of debates and dialogues, as an opportunity for knowledge sharing, exchanges and mutual enrichment.”
What priorities Italy would like to set as the guest country of the book fair and what importance literature has in Italy is explained more in detail during the press conference, and it is also made clear in the logo of the guest country: it shows a book from which a young leaf is sprouting.
Mauro Mazza is looking forward to Italy’s role as Guest of Honour with the hope that within this year, the young leaf will become a plant that bears beautiful flowers and good fruit.