The Italian Embassy will be launching today two children’s books which were translated into Arabic at the 31st Doha International Book Fair, being held in Doha Exhibition and Convention Center.
According to Italian Ambassador H E Alessandro Prunas, they have decided to translate the books to Arabic when Italy’s Deputy Foreign Minister Marina Sereni came to Qatar in October 2020 and met with the Ministry of Culture. Both parties had a joint project on the said development.
The books were written by Italian writer Gianni Rodari who is most famous for his works of children’s literature. He received the biennial Hans Christian Andersen Medal in 1970, regarded as the Nobel Prize for children’s literature.
The said books that have been translated into Arabic are La torta in cielo (The Cake in the Sky) and Fiabe lunghe un sorriso (Fairy tales long a smile).
La torta in cielo published in 1966 is a story of an enormous circular object which appears on the sky of a Roman village one April morning. Meanwhile, Fiabe lunghe un sorriso is a brilliant and amusing tales where Rodari’s unparalleled imagination parades in a carousel that praises the values of peace and friendship.
There is also a dedicated exhibit for Rodari called “Illustrations for Gianni Rodari,” which is a selection of pictures by 21 Italian artists realised by “Bologna Children’s Book Fair” and displayed in Qatar for the first time in the Italian pavilion.
The book fair is open until January 22, which carries the theme “Knowledge is Light.”
It is one of the oldest and largest international book fairs held in the region and enjoys a good reputation due to wide participation from Gulf, Arab and foreign countries in the event.
The first launch of the exhibition was in 1972 under the supervision of the Qatar National Library. The event was held biannually until 2002, when the event started to take place on an annual basis.
