It ended with great success, the three-day inaugural Festival of the South – Valentia in Festa, the most important traveling festival in Calabria, organized by the Valentia Association. In three days, more than 15,000 people attended the conferences hosted in the Valentianum in Vibo Valentia. There were around 150 guests at the Festival del Sud. Nineteen of them received the national Protome Award: Mac64, Luca Gervasi, Agostino Chiummariello, Pasquale Tridico, Linton Johnson, Diego Fusaro, Enrico Buonanno and Simona Toma (publishers of Libritalia), Andrea Pusateri, Mario Mori, Giuseppe De Donno, Elena Basile, Angelo Greco, Lorenzo Tosa, Emanuele Fiano, Luigi De Magistris, Cateno De Luca, Antonino Monteleone and Alessandro Di Battista.
In the splendid cloister of the Convent of San Domenico, dating back to the 16th century and now called Valentianum, the public and students of schools in the province of Vibo Valentia were able to appreciate the works of the Limen museum at the Chamber of Commerce of Vibo Valentia and the exhibition of the artists of the Limen Workshop. Furthermore, visitors had the opportunity to participate in the creative workshops organized by Mamma che Festa and Akosha and in the free financial education courses held by BCC Calabria Ulteriore. In addition to the hundreds of volunteers from the Valentia Association, the event also saw the active involvement of hundreds of students, especially the girls and boys from Ipseoa Gagliardi, involved in welcoming the public and guests.
The Festival of the South – Valentia in festa has obtained the High Patronage of the European Parliament and has been selected among the literary festivals to be told and promoted at the prestigious Turin Book Fair, which this year will take place from 9 to 13 May 2024. This selection not only emphasizes the importance of the festival in promoting literary culture, but also its ability to create a bridge between the various cultural expressions of the Italian territory.
Lo Bianco: «The Festival del Sud was a tribute to the passion of our community»
«With more than 15,000 participants, millions of interactions on social media, hundreds of volunteers from all over Italy, 150 guests of national and international fame and the collaboration of dozens of bodies and trade associations, this new edition was a triumph of energy and involvement. However, no number will ever be able to fully capture the unique atmosphere and overwhelming energy that permeated these three days. It was a real tribute to the passion and commitment of our community”, declared Anthony Lo Bianco, President of the Valentia Association.
For Lo Bianco, «the credit goes to an incredible team that has not only become a family, but has also generously dedicated itself to creating an extraordinary experience for everyone. We now look to the future with enthusiasm, ready to create new moments of reflection and involvement. Heartfelt thanks to everyone who made this extraordinary journey possible. In seven years, the Southern Festival has hosted, in Vibo Valentia and dozens of Calabrian municipalities, hundreds of women and men from institutions, intellectuals, professionals, writers. The criterion underlying the choice of the guests of the event was the relevance of the books published by them, with the aim of allowing our territory to dialogue directly with their authors”.
According to the President of the Valentia Association, «the seventh edition of the Southern Festival – Valentia in Festa has developed a lively and in-depth reflection on the geopolitical crisis of our times: intellectuals, members of the police force, politicians and information professionals have contributed to solicit the critical sense of the public present, which is salt for democracy. Our association's event has become central to the cultural offering of Vibo Valentia. In seven years, hundreds of guests with a high cultural depth have visited our city and, with their presence and their stories, have made a fundamental contribution to the promotion of Vibo Valentia. Thanks to the Festival del Sud, Vibo Valentia has become the cultural capital of the South. In the next few weeks, I will be in Turin to represent our association and Vibo Valentia at the Book Fair. It will be a unique experience that will enrich our association and the city as a whole”, concluded Lo Bianco.
The Festival of the South – Valentia in festa is under the High Patronage of the European Parliament. The event is sponsored by the Municipality and Province of Vibo Valentia, by the Bar Association of VV, by the Catanzaro, Crotone, Vibo Valentia Chamber of Commerce, by the GAL Terre Vibonesi, by the CNA, by the Confcommercio of VV and by the Confindustria of Vibo Valentia. The project is a candidate for the 2023 Cultural Activities Notice under the PAC 2014/2020 – Az. 6.8.3.