Skopje, 17 October 2023 (MIA) — "The Italian Language and Sustainability" is the theme of this year's Week of the Italian Language in the World events to be held across the country, beginning Tuesday with a scholarly conference on renowned Italian writer Italo Calvino.

According to the Embassy of Italy in a press release, Italian and Macedonian scholars are gathering at the Blazhe Koneski Faculty of Philology in Skopje on Oct. 17 to discuss Calvino's works. Conference participants include Italian literature scholar Rino Caputo, full professor emeritus of the Università di Tor Vergata in Rome; Macedonian writers Vlada Uroshevikj and Goce Smilevski; and Italian Language and Literature Department head Anastasija Gjurchinova.

The "Reading Calvino Today: Legacy, Reception, Translations" conference was organized to mark the writer's birth centenary. It will be accompanied by an exhibition titled "Calvino Here and Elsewhere," putting on display various editions of Calvino's books published in Macedonian and other languages.

Other events organized by the Embassy of Italy include an event marking the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Italy and North Macedonia. The anniversary be commemorated with a special postage stamp issued by the National Postal Service at an event held in the Union of Philatelists of Macedonia on Wednesday, Oct. 18. Stamp collectors will have the opportunity to receive the stamp and hear from Macedonian diplomat and philatelist Viktor Gaber.

Also on Wednesday, Professor Caputo will give a lecture at Goce Delchev University in Shtip on Calvino's works. In addition, the local Association of Teachers of Italian has organized a series of online activities, including an exhibition of posters on sustainability and Calvino's books as well as videos of Italian language students from Strumica taking part in environmental protection projects.

On Oct. 24, Skopje's Europe House will host a book launch for "North Macedonia: Nature, Excursions and Culture," the first comprehensive guide to mountain and cultural tourism in North Macedonia in Italian. It was written by Alessio Liquori, First Secretary at the Embassy of Italy in Skopje from 2017 to 2021. Liquori will also attend the Oct. 25 launch of the travel gude at the Shtip Goce Delchev University.

On Oct. 30, Kumanovo's Tane Georgievski City Library will host a reading from the poetry collection "Macedonian Views" by Mario De Rosa and Ernesto Heredero del Campo published in Italian, Macedonian, English and Spanish.

On Oct. 31, Daut Pashin Hammam in Skopje will host a poetry reading by Italian-Swiss poet Lucilla Trapazzo. The event is held with support from the Swiss Embassy in Skopje.

The series of national events celebrating the Italian language will end on Nov. 11 with the play "Gaya" staged at MKC by the Forli experimental theater group. Dealing with themes of environmental protection, the performance was organized in cooperation with the Italian Cultural Institute of Belgrade and MOT theater festival.

As part of the Week of the Italian Language in the World, the Embassy of Italy is also sponsoring Echo Mountain Film Festival, to be held in Skopje from Oct. 23 to 27.

Admission to all events is free. mr/