Festivaletteratura Mantova: B2B merch for publishers, sponsors and bookshops

Merchandising around Festivaletteratura in Mantova

Season

Early September each year, a five-day long-weekend programme

Main venues

Piazza Sordello; Piazza Broletto; Piazza delle Erbe; Palazzo Ducale; Teatro Bibiena; Teatro Ariston; the Sala delle Capriate of Palazzo Ducale; the Archivio di Stato; the Casa del Mantegna; the Palazzo della Ragione; the gardens of Palazzo Te; the Foro Boario; the synagogues of Mantova; the historic bookshops of via Cavour, via Verdi, via Roma, Piazza Concordia

Organisation

Festivaletteratura S.p.A., the Comune di Mantova, the Provincia di Mantova, the Regione Lombardia, the Fondazione Banca Agricola Mantovana, the Camera di Commercio di Mantova, the Italian publishers (Mondadori, Rizzoli, Feltrinelli, Giunti, Laterza, Einaudi, Bompiani, Adelphi, RCS, Marsilio, Sellerio, minimum fax, NN Editore, Iperborea, Voland, Edizioni e/o, La Nave di Teseo, Feltrinelli, Quid, Hacca, Marcos y Marcos, Edizioni del Girasole, Zandonai, Corraini, Mantova Arte, Lupo Editore), the literary agencies (Wylie, Andrew Nurnberg, Bompiani-RCS Literary, Grandi & Grandi, Roberto Santachiara, Cristina Giubbetti), the Italian bookshops and book chains (Feltrinelli, Librerie.coop, IBS, Libraccio, Libridine, Libreria Antiquaria, Libreria Fossato, Libreria del Teatro)

Festivaletteratura in Mantova has been held each September since 1997 in the historic centre of Mantova, with a programme of readings, lectures, debates, theatrical performances, school sections, exhibitions that runs over a five-day long-weekend in early September. The Festival is one of Italy's most prestigious literary events, with a national and international audience of authors, publishers, literary agents, translators, booksellers, professors and readers that converges on Mantova for the early-September programme. The Italian, European and American publishers cycle through, the literary agents of Italy and abroad cycle through, the Italian bookshops and book chains cycle through, and the national press, RAI and the international press cycle through. The Festival's official coordination is provided by Festivaletteratura S.p.A., a public-private entity owned by the Comune di Mantova, the Provincia di Mantova, the Regione Lombardia, the Camera di Commercio di Mantova, the Fondazione Banca Agricola Mantovana and the editorial foundations of Lombardy.

For publishers, literary agencies, sponsors, bookshops and book chains that wish to mark Festivaletteratura with their own merchandising — branded editions of the official catalogue, tote bags for the Piazza Sordello and Piazza Broletto readings, signature cards for the author signings, archive boxes for the publisher's national programme, screen-printed editorial pieces for the bookshop partners, limited objects for the literary award ceremonies — planning opens in early summer. The production districts to engage are Lombardy for the paper and printing (the printing houses of Mantova, Milano, Bergamo, Brescia), the Tuscany paper cluster for the archival editions (Firenze, Siena), the Milan and Como textile district for the ribbon and packaging (Como silk, the Prato textile district, the Mantova textile district of Castel Goffredo for the technical apparel of the staff and volunteer teams), the Florentine leather goods district for the small leather objects (Scandicci, Ponte a Greve), the Maniago district (Friuli Venezia Giulia) for the steel objects, the Murano district (Venice) for the limited glass editions, the Aretino gold and silver foil district (Arezzo) for the literary award plaques, and the Lago di Garda cluster for the technical printing. For publishers operating through the Milan hub we also engage the Italian converter network (the Sofidel cluster for the tissue packaging, the Procter & Grafpack cluster for the heavy-duty packaging).

From the Milan hub, Corp-Merch.IT runs the entire cycle: kick-off with the publisher's marketing director or with the head of the sponsor's cultural programme, graphic adaptation in coordination with the Festival's brand book and the publisher's brand book, district producer qualification, physical pre-production sample with Pantone map and structured proposal within 48 working hours of the brief. For programmes that replicate the same Festival date over multiple years we set up an annual supply contract with seasonal reviews and dedicated volume pricing. For programmes that touch Piazza Sordello, Piazza Broletto, Piazza delle Erbe, Palazzo Ducale, Teatro Bibiena and the satellite bookshops we replicate the catalogue with point customisations, shared packaging and consolidated logistics through the Mantova and Lombardy sorting hubs.

For Italian clients holding a VAT number, invoices are issued via the Agenzia delle Entrate Sistema di Interscambio (SdI) with 22% VAT in EUR; reduced rates of 4%, 5% or 10% apply to eligible product categories (books, editorial print, art pieces, literary award publications). Reverse charge applies to intra-EU buyers registered with VIES, split payment applies to public-administration stands, and Codice Destinatario or PEC is used for electronic delivery of the invoice. For corporate clients reporting under CSRD (D.Lgs. 125/2024 transposing Directive (EU) 2022/2464) we provide a sustainability sheet per order with Scope 3 CO₂e estimates aligned with the GHG Protocol, ESRS E1 (Climate Change), E5 (Resource Use) and S2 (Workers in the Value Chain), useful for the publisher's non-financial disclosure. For programmes that reach international buyers we operate as Authorised Economic Operator (AEOF) and handle CMR, packing list, origin declaration and customs clearance for the EU, Switzerland, the UK, the United States and the Gulf countries.

Production and logistics around the Mantova venues

Before launching production we lock artwork, recipient quantities, packaging and named pickup point. The final address must be reconfirmed against the calendar issued by the Festivaletteratura organisation and by the operations office of the publisher, sponsor or bookshop: Piazza Sordello, Piazza Broletto and Piazza delle Erbe have dedicated vehicular accesses managed by the Mantova municipal police with reduced loading windows, Palazzo Ducale and the Sala delle Capriate coordinate deliveries through the cultural office of the Comune di Mantova, Teatro Bibiena and Teatro Ariston have their own loading calendars in constant update, the Casa del Mantegna and the Foro Boario have further ZTL stretches that require small vehicles and pre-notice to the municipal referents, while the bookshops of via Cavour, via Verdi, via Roma and Piazza Concordia require small packages delivered during the morning loading windows of the bookshops. For the school programme coordinated by the Festivaletteratura school office, deliveries follow the indications of the school principals of the Mantova, Lombardy and national secondary schools.

For a programme routed via Milan, deliveries are consolidated at the hub and shipped to the destination venue in 24–48-hour windows via BRT, SDA, GLS or DHL Express, by appointment for ZTL venues. For programmes that touch multiple Lombardy venues we replicate the logistics across multiple nodes, with different vehicles for each leg and phone pre-notice to the local referent. For programmes above 1,000 pieces we offer appointment delivery with phone pre-notice and, on request, on-site set-up by our staff at Piazza Sordello or at the Sala delle Capriate. For fragile materials (crystal, hand-engraved silverware, fine ceramic, archival prints) we coordinate temperature-controlled transport with specialised partners and dedicated packaging.

For programmes that include satellite events in Mantova and the Lombardy literary calendar (Piazza delle Erbe, Palazzo Te, the gardens of Palazzo Ducale, the Casa del Mantegna, the bookshops of via Cavour, via Verdi, via Roma, Piazza Concordia), the co-branded publisher editions and the literary launches coordinated with the Italian and international publishers we replicate the logistics across multiple nodes and prepare a bilingual packing list for each leg. For partnerships with the Italian bookshops and book chains, the literary agencies of Italy and abroad and the Lombardy publishers we replicate the editorial programme with point customisations. For those who want a continuing presence across the Italian literary calendar we replicate the service on the Salone Internazionale del Libro di Torino, on the BookCity Milano, on the Pisa Book Festival and on the seasonal editions of the Italian and international publishers.

Frequently asked questions