Being present at the Turin Book Fair is never a neutral choice. For the San Paolo Groupthis year, was a clear choice: bringing one’s editorial proposal to one of the most popular cultural spaces in Italy, opening up to those who are searching, to those who don’t define themselves as believers, to those who stop out of curiosity in front of a word – freedom, courage, trust – written on a panel at the entrance to a stand.
The theme of the 2026 Show, The world will be saved by children, was the ideal setting for a presence that surprised even the organizers themselves: thousands of visitors, packed events, and an unexpected youth participation that overturned clichés about a generation often described as disinterested and distracted.
Don Simone Bruno, editorial director of San Paolo, tells how it went.
How many people passed by the San Paolo stand this year? And what did these presences leave behind? Was there a moment when you thought, “this is why it’s worth being here”?
«I’ll start from the last part of the question. For us it was certainly a field and group choice, to be present at the Book Fair, because it is a culturally pregnant event and allows a crossroads of meetings with many people who have the opportunity to approach our stand, even if they are not always believers, even if they are searching, even if they simply want to cross it because they are struck and enraptured by the titles we offer and the themes we address. This, in general, made us even more proud than the theme that the Book Fair gave this year — The world will be saved by children — and now I’ll tell you why.
Regarding the number of people who passed through our stand, I can without exaggeration say that we really exceeded the thousands: there was a continuous, rich flow, not only for the purchase of volumes, but precisely because they were intrigued by our proposals. I’ll give you a couple of examples.
At the entrance to the stand there was a space where people could leave their thoughts around the keywords we selected this year — words like freedom, courage, trust — which linked to a good part of our editorial projects. As they scrolled, people could stop and share what that word meant to them. An initial impact of value, in our opinion, which allowed entry into the stand with specific attention to the person and relationships.
Upon entering, the opportunities to discover our projects were not limited to the shelves and counters: there were blow-ups of some of our events and our covers, a space dedicated to the presentations of the volumes accompanied by the authors, and also a reserved corner to discreetly meet authors, journalists and illustrious guests. A stand that had the term hospitality as its basis.
Returning to the theme of the Salon, “The world saved by kids”for us it opened with a very important event: the presence of Sammy Basso’s parents, Laura and Ameli, who kicked off our valuable presence within a Salon that dealt with a theme of this type. Of course, Sammy wasn’t a little boy, but throughout his history, in all his experience, he always tried to work to improve the childhood of those affected by progeria. An event that really opened up a lot.
Then there was the project Nascere is a plural verbcreated with one of our authors who also produced a podcast at the same time. And of course there was space for the good and dear Vittorino Andreoli, who was probably the most successful event, with lots of people running around the stand for the copy signing. Until Silvio Garattini.
We have really oriented our editorial project in a very value-based and at the same time very open way. Those who came to visit the stand did not simply find books on the shelves, but had the opportunity to interact with the actual reality of San Paolo. And this year we have also planned the space “Newspaper and coffee”with the presence of all the journalists of our newspapers. It was a truly successful experiment, to give the idea that ours is a complex and varied group, which allows for journalistic and digital in-depth analysis, as well as the experience of the book.”
Was there significant youth participation, both at the Show in general and at the San Paolo stand in particular?
«I would say yes. First of all, the workshops we designed for children – animated with activities, games and reflections – were very popular. But regarding our events, we were really impressed by the great participatory flow of young people. I’ll give you some examples.
At Vittorino Andreoli’s presentation, which addressed a very profound and intimate theme – the listening experience – about half of the three hundred participants were young. Many of them then came to the stand to have their copy signed and spoke directly with him. We were surprised to take up this experience, also for the event with Nando dalla Chiesa, who presented a very particular theme: the story with his wife, who passed away four or five years ago.
At the stand, I am thinking for example of the event by Enzo Bianchi and Ferruccio de Bortoli, which attracted many young people, interested in understanding, from a person with great experience like Enzo Bianchi, in which directions we can look today in terms of faith and spirituality. This was very impressive.
I’ll give you a final example relating to myself: the presentation of my volume, on the occasion of the World Communications Day, attracted half an audience of young people and young adults. A sign of the sensitivity of today’s young people to the issues of communication and relationships, even beyond – or alongside – their presence on social networks.
I absolutely do not agree with the clichés regarding today’s young people. All the young men and women who participated, who approached our events and our stand, always brought curiosity, enthusiasm, desire and passion.”
Who stopped at the San Paolo stand, beyond the public already close to the faith? What moved even the people who were most distant from spiritual themes?
«I noticed this because I dedicated a few moments to direct observation, trying to understand what the flows were like and who was approaching and why. I have two answers in mind.
The first is the topic of the research. It is one of the needs that I notice a lot in people today, both when I listen to them in confession and – above all – as a psychologist and psychotherapist, because I still maintain this very important part of my life. The research. That constant thirst to find answers, especially to directions of meaning. Below, I always catch two questions: who I am and where I’m going.
The topic of research is a topic that can approach anyone, because it is profoundly human. And our stand is a stand humanly conceived precisely to embrace those who feel this thirst.
The second need is values. We are always very struck by how the current cultural context overshadows values, pursuing very aggressive political and warmongering communication strategies. In reality, people have a great need for values in which they can recognize themselves, values that give meaning to their identity and the path they are following, regardless of where they are starting from. And this can bring together themes, words, people that combine these two key words: research and value. Words that are collected and woven into our experience as pastoral editors, because we have the task of accompanying those who are searching and those who feel the need to encounter the values.”
Beyond your book, what was the event that affected you the most?
«They were all beautiful, but there were two that struck the chords of my emotions in a particular way.
The first was the Nando dalla Chiesa event. I got very excited. I felt the strings of bonds vibrate, of an experience that was certainly intimate and personal, but also profoundly social, given that he told his story within a fabric like that of his family and what they all represented in the media, culturally and socially.
The second moment of emotion — and emotion — was during the creation of the podcast and the presentation of “Nascere is a plural verb”. There I saw the author talk about such delicate topics, topics that concern everyone, because we are all born, we are all children. And we have all participated – probably without knowing its depth and value – in that moment which is the moment of the womb, of welcoming, of gestation, of relationships; the moment in which life inevitably comes to be at the center, regardless of everything and everyone. There I experienced two personally very engaging peaks.”
Does this Salon confirm, correct or relaunch something in San Paolo’s mission as a publisher?
«I feel like saying: confirm and relaunch.
It confirms our presence as a point of reference, as an oasis for those who are thirsty for the two values I told you about before. Spirituality, which I place at the centre, is a value and a profoundly human attitude of research. The fact that we can be a point thanks to which someone finds answers that meet the needs of contemporary spirituality really confirms to me that we are in the right place.
Relaunch because we have discovered how even a Catholic publisher like ours, using the lens of respect and the lens of relationships, can talk about very complex and admittedly more secular themes – such as those of Andreoli, Garattini on health or Nando dalla Chiesa himself – while maintaining and consolidating its own identity. This allows me to see a relaunch of the publisher as a bridge, always available to reach those who are far away.”
