A Century has passed from the birth of Quarantotti Gambini

This year marked the one hundredth year from the birth of Pier Antonio Quarantotti Gambini, born on the 23rd of February 1910 in Pisino d’Istria. This author nurtured a deeply rooted affection for the places where he had spent his childhood, which is mirrored in his memories as he revisits them in later years in his novels and poetry. The city of Trieste held a number of commemorative events including readings and the projection of films inspired by his works.

World Poetry Day commeration of Alda Merini

On the 21st of March, World Poetry Day, Alda Merini would have celebrated her 79 th birthday (she was born in Milan in 1931). The City Council wanted to pay tribute to this great poetess, who passed away recently. A memorial plaque has been placed on her home in Ripa Ticinese 47, on the canals of Milan. A concert and recital with Valentina Cortese and Milva was also held in her remembrance.

The one hundreth anniversary of Flaiano's birth

Ennio Flaiano was born in Pescara, in Abruzzo, on the 5th of March 1910, but spent his professional and artistic life in Rome. This city has named a library and a theatre after him. To commemorate the 100th anniversary of his birth, the city of Rome organised a number of events in memory of his works as a writer, critic, journalist and dramatist.
The official opening ceremony of the various initiatives took place in the Museums of the capital in the presence of the Mayor of Rome, Alemanno.

Between the 5th and 8th of March, the Casa del Cinema also paid tribute to Ennio Flaiano by organising a film review of his works as a scriptwriter and dramatist. Many very famous films were included especially those written for Fellini such as: la Dolce Vita and 8 1/2, as well as his works for Monicelli, Antonioni, Ferreri, Lattuada, Germi and others. The review closed with the film The Short Cut (Tempo di uccidere), based on his 1947 Strega Prize winning novel. This film was released a few years after his death in Rome, in 1972.
Another important homage to his career is the Flaiano Award, the most prestigious prize for film scriptwriters and dramatists. This important event takes place once a year in Flaiano's hometown, Pescara. One more initiative was launched by the Italian Postal Service, which dedicated a commemorative stamp to Flaiano with a portrait of him holding a piece of a reel of film.

Centenary of Romano Bilenchi’s birth

The year marked the centenary of Romano Bilenchi’s birth in Colle Val d’Elsa, Siena, on 9 December 1909 and the 20th anniversary of his death in Florence on 18 November 1989. Initiatives promoted by the Friends of Romano Bilenchi Association to celebrate the anniversaries included a conference at the University of Milan entitled “Romano Billenchi e la fabbrica dei libri” (Romano Bilenchi and the book industry) and a conference held in Colle Val d’Elsa on 12-13 November, which explored the author’s work and his interest in politics, journalism and art.

Bompiani celebrates 80 years

A week of festivities was held in Milan from 8-17 November 2009 to celebrate eighty years of the publishing house founded in 1929 by Valentino Bompiani, who was a writer and dramatist as well as a publisher. The celebrations included events with important Italian and foreign authors, film screenings, a concert, the release of the publishing house’s back catalogue and an evening dedicated to Leonardo Sciascia on the 20th anniversary of his death.

Centenary of Peter Ferdinando Drucker’s birth

The centenary of the birth of Drucker, the internationally renowned author of books on management theory, in Vienna on 19 November 1909, was celebrated last year with a number of exhibitions in Claremont, the city in which he died in 2005 and which is home to the Drucker School of Management, part of one of the most famous universities for economic studies in the US. Workshops and debates were also held in China, Hong Kong, Korea, Japan and Brazil, and concluded with an important forum on the responsibility of management in the 21st century, held in Vienna on 19-20 November.

Centenary of Indro Montanelli’s birth

Of the many initiatives celebrating this anniversary, one of the most outstanding must be the series of events staged by the Montanelli Bassi di Fucecchio Foundation in the province of Florence, where Montanelli was born on 22 April 1909. The website dedicated to the event (centenariomontanelli.it) illustrates the initiatives, which include an exhibition of documents, photographs and books entitled Indro Montanelli. La vita, le opere, i luoghi (Indro Montanelli. Life, Works and Places), held at the Foundation’s premises, and three conferences on various aspects of his work as a novelist, journalist and historian, held respectively at the Accademia della Crusca, Florence, the Corriere della Sera Foundation, Milan and the Senato della Repubblica, Rome. The proceedings of the three conferences will be published in 2010.
On 22 April 2009, the Italian Post Office issued a commemorative stamp.