Italy is honouring Andrea Camilleri, the Sicilian writer who created Inspector Montalbano, with a series of cultural events. 2025 is the centenary of his birth.
Camilleri, born in Porto Empedocle on 6 September 1925, died in Rome in 2019 aged 93. He wrote more than 100 books and sold around 30 million copies worldwide. His Inspector Montalbano novels, translated into nearly 40 languages, inspired a hit TV series broadcast internationally.
The Andrea Camilleri Fund and the Camilleri 100 National Committee are coordinating the centenary programme. Events include book releases, conferences, concerts, awards, exhibitions and theatrical performances.
In Taormina, the Taormina Arte Sicilia Foundation will dedicate two evenings to Camilleri at the Teatro Antico on 5–6 September. Details of the performances will be announced shortly.
Rome’s Casa del Cinema will hold a free outdoor screening on 6 September of Conversazione su Tiresia, Camilleri’s final play, written and performed by the author.
On 14 September, the Auditorium Parco della Musica Ennio Morricone in Rome will present Andrea Camilleri, Birth of a Legend. The event will feature readings by 12 of his former students at the National Academy of Dramatic Arts, with live music.
The first Andrea Camilleri–New Narrators Award will have its presentation at Rome’s Teatro Quirino on 20 September. Curated by Camilleri’s granddaughter Arianna Mortelliti, the award aims to encourage new writing talent.
In Bari, where Camilleri directed plays in the 1950s, two events titled Welcome back to Bari, dear Camilleri will run on 12–13 October.
From 22 October to 29 November, Rome’s Dante Alighieri Society will host a major exhibition at Palazzo Firenze. Titled Scenes, Voices, Accents, Writings: The Infinite Theatre of Andrea Camilleri, the exhibition will trace his life and work.
Camilleri, buried in Rome’s Non-Catholic Cemetery, remains one of Italy’s most loved cultural figures.
