HCA NEWS Hans Christian Andersen 2005 in Italy

Major press launch of Hans Christian Andersen 2005 in Milan on March 29th 2004 with the presentation of the Italian Hans Christian Andersen 2005 projects and appointment of four prominent Italians as Hans Christian Andersen Ambassadors.

By ms - H.C. Andersen 2005 - 30 March 2004

Italy will feature prominently in the worldwide celebration of the bicentenary of the birth of Hans Christian Andersen in 2005. In 1833, the young Hans Christian Andersen visited Italy for the first time and he since returned to Italy several times on his many journeys. Italy is the country, which most greatly influenced Hans Christian Andersen's life and his works.

On March 29th 2004 the Hans Christian Andersen 2005 project was presented to the Italian press at a press meeting at Galleria Meravigli in Milan. At the press meeting, General Secretary of the Hans Christian Andersen 2005 Foundation, Lars Seeberg, presented the Italian Hans Christian Andersen 2005 projects.

Among the many projects taking place in Italy are an entirely new translation of Hans Christian Andersen complete fairy tales by the leading Italian translator of Danish literature Bruno Berni, a tour of Italy of a new Hans Christian Andersen exhibition, guest performances by the Danish performance theatre group Hotel Pro Forma as well as the esteemed Columbian theatre director Enriques Vargas and an educational program about Hans Christian Andersen in Italian produced by highly esteemed Danish educational institutions.  

Italian at heart
"There is no doubt that the wide interest in the Hans Christian Andersen bicentenary we witness here in Italy proves that Andersen really was Italian at heart. It is my hope that our initiatives in Italy within education and culture will not only reach out to the Italian children of today, but also cause Italians of all ages to revisit the Andersen they thought they knew," says Lars Seeberg, General Secretary of the Hans Christian Andersen 2005 Foundation.

Danish ambassador to Italy, Poul Skytte Christoffersen, appointed four of the most prominent personalities in Italy within the fields of arts, sport and entertainment as Hans Christian Andersen Ambassadors, whose task will be to promote the wider awareness and appreciation of Hans Christian Andersen in Italy.

The four Italian Hans Christian Andersen Ambassadors are:

- Journalist and television presenter Maurizio Costanzo
- Playwriter Vincenzo Cerami
- Formula 1 driver Giancarlo Fisichella
- Soccer player Paolo Maldini


Photo: Henrik Salling


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