Late May — early June · Casa delle Letterature, Rome
For Italian and international publishers, authors, translators, foreign rights scouts, independent bookshops in Rome and Lazio, librarians, literary critics, cultural press and sponsors preparing representation programmes around the International Literature Festival held at the Casa delle Letterature and in theatres and libraries of the historic centre in the late May — early June window: author welcome kits, editorial table materials, cultural press gifts, welcome packs for foreign delegations and co–ordinated merchandising for the independent bookshops that join the windows programme.
The Rome International Literature Festival — organised by the Associazione Casa delle Letterature with contributions from Roma Capitale, Regione Lazio, Ministry of Culture, SIAE, ICE Trade Agency and Italian and European publishing partners — is one of the central fixtures of the Italian and Mediterranean literary calendar. Each year, in the late May — early June window, the edition brings to the Casa delle Letterature (Piazza dell’Orologio, a short walk from Piazza Navona), the Palazzo delle Esposizioni and a constellation of municipal libraries, independent bookshops of the historic centre and Trastevere and partner theatres an eleven–day programme that combines author talks, translation round tables, scripted readings, poetry performances, independent publishing panels, collection launches, Mediterranean literature focus and dedicated programmes for literary translators. The event is attended by Italian and European publishers, established and debut authors, translators, rights scouts from literary agencies in Paris, Berlin, London and New York, independent bookshops in Rome and Lazio, librarians from the Biblioteche di Roma circuit, literary critics from the main Italian cultural publications, trade press (Robinson, la Repubblica, Il Riformista, Alias, Il Venerdì, l’Unità), visiting delegations of partner literary festivals (Festivaletteratura di Mantova, Salone del Libro di Torino, Incroci di Civitavecchia, Greek Literature Festival in Athens, Festival du Livre in Paris) and corporate sponsors accompanying the event with their own merchandising that is consistent with their brand but respectful of the cultural frame.
For publishers presenting an author or a collection, the merch programme is structured along several lines: gifts for the guest author during the presentation and interviews, materials for the editorial table, welcome packs for the foreign delegations accompanying the author, gadgets for the cultural press, items for the public of the scripted readings and municipal libraries. For the independent bookshops in Rome and Lazio joining the festival windows, the kit must respect the festival guidelines, integrate with already printed editorial material and reach destination within the opening week.
The author presenting the book at the festival needs a discreet, curated kit: numbered edition of the festival plaquette, FSC certified paper bookmark, water-based screen-printed canvas shopper, bilingual agenda, quality pen, personalised label with the author’s name and the title of the presentation. The foreign rights scout following panels and presentations requires a more structured programme: leather folder, bilingual agenda, festival catalogue, contesting author sheets, multilingual labelling (Italian, English, French, German, Spanish). The independent bookshop joining the festival windows receives co–ordinated materials: co–ordinated shopper, window bookmark, co–ordinated window cling, small branded stationery. The reader attending the scripted readings and municipal libraries expects a co–ordinated and portable memento: canvas shopper, festival bookmark, co–ordinated pencil, small quality cartotecnica.
For a merch programme tied to an author or a collection presented at the Rome International Literature Festival, our operating hub manages the full chain. We receive the publisher’s master graphics (AI, EPS, PDF/X-4 with CMYK images at 300 dpi, FOGRA39 colour profile) and adapt them to the different customisation techniques: water-based screen printing on GOTS certified organic cotton for tote bags and shoppers, letterpress printing on FSC certified paper for programme booklets and plaquettes, laser engraving on Scandicci small leather goods for author and scout folders, relief printing on paper for catalogue covers, laser marking on Maniago stainless steel for key rings and small accessories. The pre-production physical sample with Pantone colour map and technical data sheet travels on Italian supply chains (Scandicci leather, Maniago steel, Fabriano paper, Collodi wood for small objects, Como silk for ribbons) and the delivery arrives at a historic centre hotel (Piazza Navona, Piazza di Spagna, Trastevere), the publisher’s Rome office or a consolidation warehouse in the Prati area, on slots confirmed by the editorial contact.
Most publishers managing a merch programme around the Rome International Literature Festival coordinate their Italian operations from Rome, Milan or Turin. The Rome hub — with consolidation warehouses in Prati, Parioli and San Lorenzo — allows us to receive the graphics files from the editorial team, route the pre-production sample on Italian supply chains and ship the lot to a historic centre hotel, the Casa delle Letterature or the partner bookshop on a tight courier window, twenty-four hours from Lazio. For programmes combining an Italian publisher and a European co–publisher we manage bilingual materials (Italian and English at minimum) and, on request, full multilingual release with translations aligned to ISO 17100. For programmes pairing the Rome International Literature Festival with the Salone del Libro di Torino, Festivaletteratura di Mantova or Frankfurt Buchmesse we replicate the logistics on both dates with a single operating contact.
Numbered edition of the festival plaquette on FSC certified paper, cotton paper bookmark, water-based screen-printed canvas shopper, bilingual agenda, stainless steel ballpoint pen, personalised label with the author’s name and the book title presented.
Scandicci leather folder with discreet engraving, bilingual agenda, festival catalogue, contesting author sheets, co–ordinated small stationery, multilingual labelling and bilingual packing list addressed to the recipient.
Co–ordinated shopper for the bookshop public, window bookmark on FSC certified paper, co–ordinated window cling for partner bookshop windows, small branded stationery and thank-you postcard for the readers.
Cotton canvas bags with water-based screen printing, festival bookmarks on FSC certified paper, beech wood pencils, Maniago stainless steel key rings, small cartotecnica for partner theatres.
Before starting production, the master graphics files, quantities per publisher and per author, packaging and named receiving point must be closed. The final delivery address is locked against the calendar of the publishing director or the publisher’s logistics contact: the Casa delle Letterature in Piazza dell’Orologio, a historic centre hotel (Piazza Navona, Piazza di Spagna, Trastevere), the publisher’s Rome office or a Rome consolidation warehouse. The ZTL access restrictions of the historic centre and Rome’s traffic conditions shape the loading slots, which is why most teams opt for early morning deliveries or after 20:00, when commercial vehicles are again admitted to the central areas.
For an Italian programme routed through Lazio, the deliveries are consolidated at the hub and shipped towards the Casa delle Letterature area or the delegation hotel with 24–hour windows via BRT, SDA, GLS or DHL Express Italia, on appointment for venues requiring telephone notice. For programmes above 1,000 pieces we propose appointment delivery with telephone notice and, on request, on-site set-up by our staff at the Casa delle Letterature hall or the partner bookshop. For materials requiring controlled environmental conditions (FSC certified paper, plaquettes, small leather goods) we coordinate temperature-controlled transports with specialised partners. For kits destined to international delegations we manage multilingual labelling (Italian, English, French, German, Spanish, Russian, Arabic) and tamper-evident bag packaging with bilingual packing list addressed to the recipient. For clients subject to CSRD reporting (D.Lgs. 125/2024, transposing Directive (EU) 2022/2464) we attach a per-order sustainability sheet with CO₂e Scope 3 estimate according to the GHG Protocol Corporate Value Chain on the Lombardy–Lazio leg.
All Italian B2B orders are invoiced in EUR at the standard 22% VAT rate (with reduced 4%, 5% and 10% rates applied when the product category allows: publishing, art objects, PDO products) and routed through the Sistema di Interscambio (SdI) of the Agenzia delle Entrate to the addressee code or the buyer’s PEC address. Corp-Merch.IT is an Italian VAT-registered entity, listed in VIES for intra–EU operations, and manages reverse charge, split payment and self-invoicing for public administration according to Italian law in force.
Eight–ten weeks is the safest window for production on Italian supply chains and delivery to the reference hotel of the delegation or the publisher’s Rome office. Six–seven weeks work when the product mix is simple, the book or collection graphics are already approved and the quantities are already defined. For publishers pairing the Rome International Literature Festival with the Salone del Libro di Torino or Frankfurt Buchmesse we replicate the lots on both dates with a single operating contact.
Yes, but with precise constraints. The Associazione Casa delle Letterature indicates the set-up window, the loading lane and the named addressee. Most teams combine the Casa delle Letterature with a historic centre hotel (Piazza Navona, Piazza di Spagna, Trastevere) or with a consolidation warehouse in the Prati area. For presentation evenings we propose delivery to the delegation’s reference hotel with twenty-four hour telephone notice.
Yes. For programmes covering multiple titles of the same catalogue or multiple publishers of the same distribution we separate into lots labelled by title and by recipient, with distinct delivery addresses if publishers are based in different cities. For programmes combining Italian publishers and European co–publishers we replicate the logistics on both sides of the production.
No. Corp-Merch.IT is an external and independent B2B supplier that helps publishers, authors, translators, rights scouts, independent bookshops and sponsors prepare their own merchandise around the Rome International Literature Festival. It does not organise, sponsor or represent the Rome International Literature Festival, the Associazione Casa delle Letterature, Roma Capitale, Regione Lazio or the Ministry of Culture.
Corp-Merch.IT is an external and independent B2B supplier for publishers, authors, translators, independent bookshops and delegations participating in the Rome International Literature Festival. This page helps teams prepare their own merchandise around the event. It does not represent the Rome International Literature Festival, the Associazione Casa delle Letterature, Roma Capitale, Regione Lazio or the Ministry of Culture.