Rome book fair mired in censorship row over anti-fascist pledge

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Meloni accuses Più Libri Più Liberi organisers of censorship. Più Libri Più Liberi, Italy's national fair for small and medium-sized publishers, has become the centre of a political storm after organisers introduced a requirement that exhibitors sign a declaration committing to anti-fascist and constitutional values in order to take part in this year's edition. The 25th edition of the fair, due to run in Rome from 4 to 8 December at the Nuvola convention centre in the EUR district, is undergoing what organisers have called a season of strategic renewal, including a new curatorial team led by writer Paolo Di Paolo and a reorganised exhibition layout with fewer stands overall. As part of the changes, publishers applying for space have been asked, in their admission forms and the fair's general regulations, to sign what critics have dubbed the "patentino antifascista" - an anti-fascist licence. Political reactions The move drew a sharp response from Italy's right-wing prime minister Giorgia Meloni, who used a social media post on Sunday to accuse the fair of censorship. She argued that requiring publishers to obtain such a "licence" amounted to the left dictating what people are permitted to say, think or read, dressing up the suppression of non-left-wing ideas as anti-fascism, and said this was incompatible with any democratic society. Per partecipare alla fiera della piccola e media editoria “Più libri più liberi”, che si svolgerà a Roma, le case editrici dovranno ottenere quest’anno il “patentino antifascista”, sottoscrivendo un’apposita dichiarazione.È così che la sinistra concepisce la libertà di... — Giorgia Meloni (@GiorgiaMeloni) June 14, 2026 Justice minister Carlo Nordio argued that it was paradoxical to demand anti-fascist pledges from publishers while Italy's penal code, signed by Mussolini, remains in force unchanged. Far-right figurehead Roberto Vannacci backed Meloni's stance, while centre-left opposition figures - including Partito Democratico (PD) leader Elly Schlein and +Europa's Riccardo Magi - accused the premier of stirring up a manufactured row for political advantage, with other critics pointing out that Meloni herself had sworn an oath to Italy's anti-fascist constitution. Commentators including historians Massimo Cacciari and Luciano Canfora separately criticised the declaration itself as excessive for a trade event rather than a public institution. Organisers respond The fair's organising body, the Fiera Nazionale della Piccola e Media Editoria, rejected the censorship charge that same afternoon, insisting the declaration was about clarity and unity among exhibitors rather than censorship, and that it drew solely on institutional and universal constitutional principles, free of any political slant. The organisers nonetheless acknowledged that the declaration had evidently not been understood that way, and said Meloni's intervention, and the wider debate it triggered, meant they would carry out further careful reflection out of institutional respect. Background The controversy follows last December's row over a publisher accused of glorifying Nazi-fascist and antisemitic figures, which led around 100 authors to boycott or protest the fair, and saw Rome's centre-left mayor skip the opening ceremony. Analysts have linked Meloni's intervention to growing competition from Vannacci, whose new party, Futuro Nazionale, held its founding assembly on the same day the premier's post was published. Photo credit: Andrea Izzotti / Shutterstock.com