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A Bridge made of Books: Ponti di Cultura nel Mediterraneo

On Friday 6 November, at 6.30 pm, the hall of the Italian Cultural Institute in Valletta, in St George’s Square, will host the final evening for the 2025-2026 edition of the Ponti di Cultura nel Mediterraneo (Bridges of Culture in the Mediterranean) project, spearheaded by independent Italian publishing house Bonfirraro Editore in collaboration with a number of Malta’s major educational and cultural entities.

The event will feature an address on Central Mediterranean cultural relations and literary interconnections by Prof. Norbert Bugeja, Director of the University of Malta’s Mediterranaean Institute, which is a collaborating partner on the initiative, together with Malta’s Ministry of Culture, the Embassy of Italy in Malta, the Italian Cultural Institute in Valletta, the National Book Council of Malta, the Malta Book Festival, La Gazzetta di Malta, the Italian-Maltese Chamber of Commerce and the Antica Galleria Bonfirraro.

Through this project, the Sicily-based Bonfirraro Editore has been building a lasting bridge of collaborations and publishing cooperation between Italy and Malta since 2025. The evening will feature the presentation of Exit Queen – Scacco alla Regina by Marco Ubezio and Francesco Spartà. It also honours the young participants of Italiano Vivo – Malta and opens the new 2026-2027 edition with Sia scritta la tua volontà by Karl Schembri.

Bonfirraro Editore has published fiction and non-fiction and promoted cultural projects and publishing exchanges, with particular attention to dialogue between Sicily, the Mediterranean and Malta. Over the years, it has collaborated with Maltese educational and cultural institutions and published Maltese authors in Italian, among them Immanuel Mifsud, Aleks Farrugia, Francis Ebejer and Frans Sammut. 2026 also marks the publishing house’s fortieth year of activity.

The same evening will also honour the young participants of Italiano Vivo – Malta. With this new programme the project has this year brought the Italian language into Maltese secondary schools and universities and to young people of the Italian community living on the island. The chosen theme is “Una mossa coraggiosa” (A brave move). Entries, written entirely in Italian, may be sent until 20 October by email.