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WORLD BOOK DAY

2016 Tales

Whoever has had the pleasure of spending a vacation in the “friendly” company of a good book knows the marvelous magic of losing track of the boundary between experience in first person and that acquired through reading. Remembrance of a vacation in these cases transports us back to the book that gave it inspiration. Reading-matter that is fascinating and thought provoking renders us more sensitive, reflective, and ready to enjoy to the limit every detail of our stay away from home. Our journey also becomes an inner journey in this way. The Golden Book Hotel Association is formed of a select group of companies operating in the tourist sector. These companies have chosen to promote their image by means of an elegant gesture: the gift of a book to their guests. The Association’s members – be they hotels or country estates – share the view that Tourism largely signifies Culture, and that attention to detail is an expression of qualified hospitality.

www.goldenbookhotels.it GOLDEN BOOK HOTELS

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2 0 1 6 Last autumn/winter, the members of our pool of authors each wrote an unpublished short story during their stays in various Golden Book Hotels: the suggested theme for the stories was the actual hotel providing hospitality, which set the stage or was even the protagonist of the stories. The tales come to light in this collection right on 23 April 2016, the World Book and Copyright Day – also known as the Day of Books and Roses, and Saint George’s day. The aim of this Day – an event held under the patronage of UNESCO – is to encourage people to discover the pleasure of reading and value authors’ contributions to the social and cultural advancement of humanity. Golden Book Hotels want to make their own small contribution to this goal by being true to their mission of combining holiday time, relaxation and the pleasure of reading, while at the same time promoting the work of non-professional writers. The collection which we are offering is our way sharing with you all the genuine literary passion of its authors, who we will continue to support with great pleasure on all the #23APRILE to come. Enjoy! GBH - The President

Vins Gallico, the finalist writer at the 2015 Strega award with his novel Final Cut – l’amore non resiste (Fandango libri), will be the special host of project #23APRILE. The author has also published Portami Rispetto (Rizzoli 2010) and has worked as a publishing consultant and translator. Until 2015 he was head of the Fandango Incontro bookstore. Today he writes for Il Fatto Quotidiano and Pagina99 and is a member of the steering committee of “Piccoli Maestri”, a cultural association which promotes reading in schools.

Foreword by Vins Gallico

Our lives are tangles: of numbers, places, impressions and stories. When I was a child April 23 was synonymous with adventure, as it was the day of the fight against the dragon. The city where I grew up had chosen Saint George as its patron saint, like many other port cities in the Mediterranean. Many churches displayed the image of this Turkish super-martyr, immortalised in fantasy hero poses as he drove his sword into the throat of a fire-breathing winged monster. This is just a version of one of many pagan myths that crossed paths with Christianity. Religions, like dreams and ideas, are tangles. April 23 changed its meaning when I was a young kid and spring was in full bloom; I would wear short-sleeved shirts and my hormones were raging. The city festival of Saint George was on the 23rd and Liberation Day was just two days after that, meaning a longer holiday. A longer holiday meant free time, escape and a trip. Back then my destinations were not hotels; I would sleep on acquaintances’ couches, yoga mats borrowed from friends