This year too, great institutional and insider attention was aroused by the consolidated participation of Taobuk – Taormina International Book Festival, the event conceived and directed by Antonella Ferrara since 2011.
In the context of the Sicilia Stand, on Wednesday 11 February the president and artistic director anticipated the news of the XVI edition – in progress from 18 to 22 June – focused on the theme of Trust, an ethical and civil value that runs deep through our time. Ferrara at the same time highlighted the value of cultural tourism as a strategic infrastructure for the territories and capable of generating developmentillustrating through data and projects the impact that the festival produces far-reaching, beyond the borders of Taormina and Sicily.
Taobuk thus confirms itself as a multidisciplinary agora that moves from literature in conjunction with the other Muses – from cinema to theatre, from visual arts to music – to expand to knowledge and knowledge, in reflections on geopolitics, science, artificial intelligence and justice. The culminating moment will, as always, be there gala evening at the Ancient Theater of Taorminascheduled for June 20th, with the delivery of Taobuk Award, event of great media attention which, like every year, will be filmed and broadcast by Rai. Antonella Ferrara therefore announced some of the prestigious recipients of the Taobuk Awards, including the narrator and essayist Dacia Marainithe poet Adonis and the cellist HAUSER.
The reflection on the concept is noteworthy, where the Latin root fides recalls mutual trust and shared commitment, which allows authentic relationships and cohesive communities to resist and grow. Observe Antonella Ferrara: “Trust it will be investigated as the foundation of relationships between individuals and communities, as a condition of civil life and a prerequisite for the credibility of institutions and science, but also as a future horizon in an era marked by conflicts, instability and profound transformations that directly affect the Euro-Mediterranean area. In this scenario, crossed by lacerating conflicts, widespread instability and a growing erosion of certainties, trust becomes essential to continue believing in the future. And it is also what can strengthen our ability to imagine, build and relaunch a new idea of Europe. An EU called to renew its founding pact, to rebuild trust between member states, to recover credibility in the eyes of citizens, so that it can return to being a political and cultural project, not just economic architecture. And this is happening while a strategy is being developed that targets the West, with the aim of eroding the principles on which democracies are founded, undermining their cohesion and breaking the bond that unites the future of different nations. Taking trust as a theme therefore means bringing back to the center the invisible plot that supports every bond: the credibility of science, the responsibility of emerging technologies, the vitality of intellectual dialogue, the value of the word in narration and art. It is questioning ourselves about trust in others, in society, in institutions, in time, in the future”.
And in perspective it should also be read Taobuk’s tourist-cultural missionthe festival with i 200 guests from 30 different countries and 30,000 visitors confirms itself as a protagonist in a record-breaking Taormina which recorded more than one million four hundred thousand visitors in the summer of 2025, with an increase in tourist volumes of +624% compared to the same period of 2019.
“Taobuk – says Antonella Ferrara – was born from the belief that culture is a true infrastructure of territories, capable of generating development, vision and cohesion. The data that today describe Taormina as one of the capitals of international tourism demonstrate that investing in long-term cultural projects means strengthening the identity of the places and making them more attractive and competitive. With Taobuk over the years we have built an ecosystem that intertwines literature, arts, critical thinking and heritage valorisation, involving the territory in a virtuous circle. Being at BIT means sharing this experience and reiterating that Sicily can be a laboratory for a model in which culture and tourism grow together, in a sustainable and long-lasting way. The Taobuk Awards also fit into this vision, which every year bring to Taormina voices capable of speaking to the world. In the 16th edition the recognition will go, among others, to protagonists of contemporary culture and art such as Adonis, among the greatest living poets and central figure of the Mediterranean dialogue; Dacia Maraini, clear and necessary witness of Italian civil and literary history; the charismatic HAUSER, world-famous cellist. Presences that tell of Taobuk’s ambition to be a meeting place between languages, generations and cultures, and to reaffirm Sicily’s role as a space open to trust, beauty and international comparison”.
And from a supranational and pro-European perspective there is an initiative that significantly characterizes Taobuk 2026: “Among the projects with the greatest symbolic power of the 16th edition – highlights Ferrara – stands outDoors of Europe, the great artistic intervention entrusted to Mimmo Paladinoamong the most authoritative interpreters of Italian contemporary art, with the curatorship of the historian and critic Vincenzo Trione. Conceived as a monumental sign capable of communicating with the landscape and history of the Mediterranean, the project involves the creation of two twin works that will rise on opposite banks of the Strait of Messina, located in state-owned territories of particular cultural and landscape importance, thus returned to a new symbolic and civil destination. The two Gates outline an ideal itinerary that unites some key points of the Mediterranean and interprets Italy’s role as a threshold and hinge between continents, strengthening the strategic function of the Strait within the framework of European identity. An artistic and institutional gesture that combines public art, valorisation of heritage and international vision, confirming Taobuk as a platform capable of generating projects destined to leave a lasting mark in the territories”.
Many insights at the center of the program together with initiatives to enhance the territory such as Taormina CultAnd some important anniversaries, including the 90th anniversary of the death of Luigi Pirandello, the 80 years since the referendum which sanctioned the birth of the Italian Republic and the 250 years since Declaration of Independence of the United States of America.
Specific attention will be given to debate on justiceedited by the journalist Elvira Terranova, and at instances of technological innovation and artificial intelligence, in the in-depth analysis curated by journalist Massimo Sideri. There will also be a broad focus dedicated to geopolitical debateedited by the journalist Paolo Valentino, to try to understand the current global scenarios and their changes, and the space dedicated to cinema entrusted to Federico Pontiggia. Of great importance are the educational initiatives aimed at the younger generations, with the return of TaobukTeenthe space dedicated to children’s literature and reading promotion projects carried out together with local schools. Furthermore, in partnership with the Bellonci Foundation, Taobuk will host the second edition of Strega Essayistic Awardto.
Taobuk and Taormina: the impact on cultural tourism
Taormina represents a privileged observatory for measuring the impact that long-term cultural initiatives have on the territories that host them. With the presence at BIT, Taobuk wants to share the results and future prospects of a project capable of involving its territory in a virtuous circle thanks to a quality cultural offer, in a country like Italy where culture confirms itself as one of the main drivers of tourist demand.
Through a complex network of collaborations with institutions, museums, cultural foundations, universities, accommodation facilities, trade associations, regional bodies, tourist operators, airports, Pro Loco and local guides, the festival generates additional tourist flows, encourages stay during the days of the event and integrates the landscape, artistic and gastronomic offer with the cultural one. An emblematic example of this vision is represented by the circuit Taormina Cultconceived by the festival as a tool for the permanent valorisation of urban heritage. An itinerary divided into numerous stages, enriched by signage and digital content in multiple languages, which intercepted a significant flow of visitors interested in a slow and conscious use of the city, with specific reference to the homes of illustrious people who chose Taormina as a retreat, from Oscar Wilde to Truman Capote, from David Herbert Lawrence to Greta Garbo.
An international projection also attested by the cultural dissemination program which has recently taken the festival beyond national borders, in highly prestigious editorial contexts such as the Buchmesse in Frankfurt, the Paris Book Fair and the international book fairs of Tunis, Rabat, Algiers, Cairo, Santiago de Chile, Lima.
Taobuk therefore stands as one of the most relevant international and at the same time multidisciplinary literary festivals: a cultural project deeply rooted in its community, capable of generating symbolic and economic value, strengthening the identity of places on a global level and contributing to the sustainable development of Taormina and the whole of Sicily.
The Festival, founded by Antonella Ferrara and with a scientific committee chaired by Nino Rizzo Nervo, is promoted and supported by the Sicilian Region, with the contribution of the Taormina Arte Sicilia Foundation, Naxos Taormina Archaeological Park, City of Taormina, University of Messina, University of Catania, Teatro Massimo Bellini of Catania and the competition of prestigious private partners.