The 40th anniversary of MontagnaLibri
Published 01/04/2026
MontagnaLibri celebrates its 40th anniversary with a new section dedicated to authors under 35. Cooperation continues with the ITAS Mountain Book Award, introduced this year by Paolo Mieli, and the well-established International Antiquarian Book Fair
The 74th Trento Film Festival represents an important milestone for one of its most popular sections: the MontagnaLibri book fair will indeed be celebrating its 40th anniversary at this year’s event. For forty years it has enabled the public to explore novels, short stories, reports, guidebooks and comics linked to the subject of the mountains, their exploration and different cultures, displayed and made available to all booklovers. Moreover, it has also offered forty years of presentations and meetings with authors, in 2026 once again hosted at the traditional literary salon in Piazza Duomo.
For a fitting celebration of this milestone and as a fresh point of departure, MontagnaLibri is launching a new section for readers: You look younger! – Young Voices for the Mountains.
Created with the support of MiC and SIAE as part of the “Per Chi Crea” programme, You look younger! aims to provide a platform for authors under 35, who will present not only their latest books, but also the paths taken thanks to their projects, at the respective events.
Thus Marika Ciaccia, author of Libera (Solferino), will reflect on walking as a means of inner transformation, Caterina Manfrini will present readers with Sette Volte Bosco (Neri Pozza), her highly successful debut novel, and Wafaa Amer, an Italian-Egyptian climber forced to defy her family and culture of origin to make her mark on the world of climbing, will bring her autobiography Io sono Wafaa (Solferino) to the public’s attention. Monica Malfatti, author of Dimmi che mi ami. Le Dolomiti di Claudio Barbier (Versante Sud Edizioni), will recount other curious tales of forgotten mountaineers, starting from the biography of the Belgian climber, while Giulia Negri, a physicist by training and science communicator, will captivate the audience with Montagna. Istruzioni per l’uso (Laterza), an entertaining and inspiring guide to venturing off the beaten track. Camilla Ghiotto, author of Tempesta (Salani), shortlisted for the Strega Prize in 2023, will take readers on the journey of discovery that led her to delve into her own past for this work, uncovering the secret identity of her elderly father, a partisan commander during the Second World War. Finally, Andrea Antinori, an award-winning author and illustrator, will coordinate a meeting and creative workshop based on his latest picture books, La terra non è piatta and Solo una notte.
In the context of MontagnaLibri’s 40th anniversary celebrations, in cooperation with ITAS Mutua, the Literary Salon will host the meeting Small Steps, Great Mountains: The World of the Mountains in Children’s Picture Books. The round table will feature the authors and illustrators Andrea Antinori and Irene Penazzi, along with author and publisher Giovanna Zoboli (Topipittori), and will be chaired by Maria Polita, trainer and critic at scaffalebasso.it. The MontagnaLibri anniversary programme also includes the evening event From Father to Daughter, featuring Mauro Corona and his daughter Marianna. (Topipittori), again chaired by Maria Polita.
Collaboration with the ITAS Mountain Book Award will continue during the Festival at an event scheduled for Sunday 26 April at the Teatro Sociale, featuring Paolo Mieli (see attached press release), when the shortlisted books will be presented and the prizes awarded to authors. Likewise, a close partnership continues with Montura, which this year will introduce the public to the book Ande ’89. Diari inediti della prima traversata integrale della Cordigliera (Saturnia) by David Bellatalla and Daniele Sigismondi.
Two further events continue the by now traditional partnership with CAI – Italian Alpine Club: Paolo Malaguti, an author shortlisted for the 2021 Campiello Prize, will talk to the audience about his two latest books, La leggenda del faggio vecchio (CAI Edizioni) and Sentieri partigiani (Einaudi), while at the T4Future venue in Piazza Fiera, Irene Borgna will present the book Cose che capitano in montagna. Imprevisti e come affrontarli in modo più sicuro e sostenibile (CAI Edizioni), illustrated by Agnese Blasetti.
Stories featuring Robert Kennedy – making an unlikely ascent of an unclimbed peak in the Yukon, named after his brother, in March 1965 – the Polish mountaineer Tomasz Mackiewicz, and the visionary mountaineer and adventurer Hans-Peter Duttle, the latter a guest at the Festival, will be the subject of three book presentations: Responsabilità e compassione. Il mondo nuovo di Robert Kennedy (Vitrend) by Antonio Marchesi, Tomek – Il mio universo (Solferino) by Anna Solska-Mackiewicz, and L’uomo che parla come un bambino. Hans-Peter Duttle dall’Everest ai ghiacci artici (Monterosa Edizioni) by Mario Casella.
There is also space for exploration, thanks to books such as In Groenlandia. La terra del nulla e del tutto: un diario d’amore (Ponte alle Grazie) by geographer Daniela Tommasini, or Non cercatele in salotto. Esploratrici, avventuriere, viaggiatrici: donne che hanno cambiato il mondo (Ediciclo) by Silvia Ugolotti, a history of the first women who dared to break the mould and set off on their own for long journeys.
To explore the life-giving and transformative power of spending time in the mountains, particularly following a loss, the following books will be presented: La verità è nel passo (Edizioni del faro) by Daniela Larentis and Rialzati e cammina. Dieci storie di salvezza grazie alla montagna (e una playlist) (MonteRosa Edizioni) by Max Cassani. Mauro Neri’s Terre promesse. Piccole storie di chi partì guardandosi indietro (Athesia) instead tells the stories of those who were forced to leave the mountains to emigrate elsewhere, while Oro colato (Altreconomia) by Luigi Casanova and Duccio Facchini investigates another sort of ‘promise’, linked to the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics and their legacy, supposedly capable of revitalising the mountains. But is that really what has happened?
Finally, Noemi Pelagalli’s book Made in Korea. Dalle origini al K-Pop (Corbaccio) will be featured in the Destination… South Korea section, taking us on a journey exploring an amazing and fascinating country, which is nevertheless also characterised by savage melancholy.
29th International Antiquarian Mountain Booksellers Fair
The second weekend of the Festival (1-2 May) also sees the return of the International Antiquarian Mountain Booksellers Fair, which will be held in the picturesque cloister of the former Augustinian convent, in the heart of Trento’s historic centre. Admission is free.
The same venue will also host the launch of a unique book: Lo scatto del tempo. Vittorio Sella, il fotografo e il suo archivio (Antiga Edizioni). The volume brings together the work of the mountaineer-photographer Vittorio Sella, presenting it from a fresh perspective, thanks to privileged access to his archives, now preserved with meticulous care by the Sella Foundation.
