It was a truly happy choice, that of Taobuk’s 2026 theme: the word “Trust” was a hymn to hope, which went straight to the hearts of anyone who found themselves in Taormina in these five days, among streets, squares and places of identity, in which the concept stood out in red, in large letters. Even a simple walk on the Corso, or participation in one of the countless scheduled events has left something. Something beautiful. A value to reflect on, from which to draw courage in facing everyday life, also thanks to the lucid and passionate reasoning that has been conducted around this topic by some of the most prestigious voices on the international intellectual scene.
And having them present in Taormina – even coming from far away – being able to listen to them directly was a very precious gift in its simplicity, in a time in which speaking to each other has become a privilege, in which digital distances blur the value of relationships and alter the very concept of “truth”.
A particularly heartfelt and shared theme, which marked one of the most intense and popular editions, including many young people, including male and female students from the schools and universities of Messina and Catania. Taormina was at the center of the debate for five days and attracted an attentive audience, attracted by the culture which is not just a dissertation, but becomes a tool for awareness and participation. For a civil commitment that starts from a book and is expressed in every gesture of an everyday life that is intended to be more just, ethical, democratic, “human”.
“There are words that describe a historical time and words that interpret its deepest need. Trust was both things for the 16th edition of Taobuk.”
Antonella Ferrara, president and artistic director of the event that she created in 2010, takes stock of this edition which brought 200 guests from 30 countries to Taormina, during five days of intense discussion and multidisciplinary dialogue, in a widespread festival that recounted the multiple meanings of the word “Trust”, in a rich program of literature, cinema, music, dance, visual arts, geopolitics and science. And the new dates have already been launched: Taobuk will return from 17 to 21 June 2027 in Taormina for its XVII edition: the new concept will be announced in the coming months.
An idea born 16 years ago, and today increasingly consolidated, to the point of becoming an important cultural ecosystem, an event with a precise identity, capable of generating impact, ongoing debate, and of offering tools for reading the present to a territory hungry for stimuli, comparing different perspectives and obtaining increasingly important feedback in the economy of attendance. Between Palazzo Corvaja, Palazzo Duchi di Santo Stefano, with the BPER Agorà and the Jan Calogero exhibition, Piazza IX Aprile, and the gala evening at the ancient theater which was once again packed this year, the program was diversified and punctuated by different insights, spaces, perspectives and languages.
In Palazzo Corvaja, in particular, the temporary installation with two works by Anish Kapoor can be visited. Red surfaces that seem to breathe, and retain everything: matter, wound, memory, attraction. The exhibition, curated by Arturo Galansino, with the display of the two unpublished canvases, will remain open to visitors until June 30th (every day, 10am/1pm and 4pm/8pm). Kapoor explained trust through one of the least reassuring paths possible: art that does not console, that does not explain, that forces one to remain in front of what cannot be understood at first glance.
Ferrara: the confidence to imagine the future
«In a present marked by wars, technological transformations and new collective fragilities, the festival has chosen to question precisely that feeling on which the possibility of imagining the future depends. – he states – The response received from Taormina confirmed the need for this choice. Exactly as had happened in previous years with concepts such as freedom, truth, identity, borders. Sixteen years after its birth, Taobuk therefore continues to deal with the questions that run through contemporary society, which are also reflected – but not only – in the tensions of the Mediterranean”.
«The reactions collected during the five days of the event – he continues – have once again returned the portrait of a global community in search of orientation. From here takes shape what, starting from a plural comparison, over the years has become, without rhetoric, the civil mission of Taobuk. From many free voices, the event builds a shared chorus: a critical awareness developed over time through the succession and coherence of the themes gradually addressed, and which strengthens the festival’s ability to carve out an increasingly authoritative space in the international cultural debate”.
Each edition, Ferrara reiterates, is born from observation and each theme is promptly revealed to be pervasive. So for Taobuk 2026. Hannah Arendt wrote that without trust the world would become “hell”. It is a reflection that animated the entire program, transforming Taormina into a great contemporary agora.” Public participation «gave the measure of this need for discussion. The turnout exceeded the capacity of the available spaces on several occasions, increasing the desire to share ideas.”
2026 also marks important growth on an international level: entry into the Global Association of Literary Festivals and the collaboration started with the Emirates Literature Foundation. «The outcome of this sixteenth edition – concludes Ferrara – is therefore a source of satisfaction and pride. Not only for the results achieved, but for the quality of the ideas that emerged and for Taobuk’s ability to continue to be a place of collective development. In an era marked by strong polarizations, trust has revealed itself not to be a gesture of naivety, but a conscious and mature choice. Perhaps the most authentic legacy of this edition is right here: having remembered that culture does not limit itself to reading the world, but contributes to building it.”
The hymn to civil responsibility by Bernard-Henri Lévy
The words of Bernard-Henri Lévy in one of the most exciting meetings of the festival underline the relevance and importance of the theme of the sixteenth edition of Taobuk, receiving the Taobuk Award: «Today the most devalued currency in the world is trust. This is why the Taobuk Festival is so important. I hope that all the words we have said in these days can go beyond the borders of the Ancient Theater of Taormina, Sicily and Italy. When I was young we used to say “socialism or barbarism”. Truly, I deeply believe that today the alternative is: trust or barbarism.”
The awards of the XVI edition
The 2026 Taobuk Award went to the writers Abdulrazak Gurnah, Nobel Prize winner for Literature, Haruki Murakami, Dacia Maraini, Jonathan Coe, Donato Carrisi, the artist Anish Kapoor, Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, the conductor Vitali Alekseenok, the Nobel Prize winner for Economics Esther Duflo, the actress and director Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, the philosopher and journalist Bernard-Henri Lévy, the essayist Alfio Bonaccorso, the saxophonist Stefano Di Battista, the singer Nicky Nicolai, the director and founder of the Compagnia Zappalà Danza Roberto Zappalà, the actress Ester Pantano and the artist Valerio Adami, who created the Taobuk 2026 Manifesto. The writers Felicia Kingsley and Eduardo Mendoza were awarded the Premio Sicilia. Among the protagonists of the event also the Dutch author Jan Brokken, who presented his latest work as a world premiere, Paolo Gentiloni, the new FIGC president Giovanni Malagò, Vito Mancuso, Matteo Saudino, Manuel Valls. Ministers Paolo Zangrillo and Matteo Piantedosi spoke (remotely). During the evening of the Taobuk Gala, the orchestra of the Bellini theater in Catania took part, musical co-producer of the event.
The finalists of the Strega Saggistica
During the festival, the five finalist books of the Strega Saggistica Prize were also announced, with Fondazione Maria and Goffredo Bellonci and Strega Alberti Benevento: “Alfabit. Digital Italian from SMS to AI” (il Mulino) by Giuseppe Antonelli; “The murder of Piersanti Mattarella. Italy in the crosshairs: Palermo Ustica Bologna 1979-1980” (Einaudi) by Miguel Gotor; “The plague. Investigation of the right in Germany” (Feltrinelli) by Tonia Mastrobuoni; “Vertigo. Stories of those who rely on science and those who learn to do so (Mondadori) by Beatrice Mautino”; “The East. A story” (Laterza) by Alessandro Vanoli.
Partnerships and international news
With the presence of the poet Shamma Al Bastaki in Taormina, the partnership between Taobuk and the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature is inaugurated and Taobuk’s entry into the Global Association of Literary Festivals (GAoLF). The festival conceived and directed by Antonella Ferrara will participate in the next edition of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature in April 2027 in Dubai.
The sixteenth edition of Taobuk, conceived and directed by Antonella Ferrara, was promoted by the Sicilian Region – Department of Tourism, Sport and Entertainment and Department of Cultural Heritage and Sicilian Identity, by the Taormina Arte Sicilia Foundation, with the support of the Naxos Taormina Archaeological Park, the Municipality of Taormina, ENI and BPER, which supported the Agorà space of Palazzo Duchi di Santo Stefano, scene of numerous events, including the meeting with Jonathan Coe.