Mattarella made the remark during event to mark 80 years of Italy's top literary prize.Italian president Sergio Mattarella has quipped that the world would be better served if those in positions of power spent more time reading rather than penning self-aggrandising memoirs.Mattarella made the remarks at the Quirinale Palace on Tuesday while receiving a delegation from the Premio Strega, Italy's top literary prize, ahead of its 80th anniversary. Weapons replaced by books The head of state reflected on what he described as the prize's decisive contribution of culture in accompanying the birth of the new Italy after the second world war - a contribution that, in his words, helped take weapons out of people's hands and place books in them instead. He noted that the Strega Prize had always carried a message urging people to read, to reflect and to seek understanding - a need he said is felt very keenly in the present period as well. Framing it as a quip, Mattarella suggested: "If some of the world's powerful were to dedicate themselves to reading, rather than cultivating improbable and imaginary autobiographies, we would probably all benefit". Premio Strega Established in 1947, the Strega Prize is held annually in Rome and has long been considered a barometer of Italian literary culture. The prize is awarded for the best work of prose fiction written in the Italian language by an author of any nationality and first published between March of the previous year and the end of February. Notable winners over the decades include classics like Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa’s The Leopard (1959) and Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose (1981), alongside modern successes such as Helena Janeczek’s The Girl with the Leica (2017). This year's event will be held on 8 July at the Campidoglio and will be broadcast on state television channel RAI 3. Photo credit: Victor Mogyldea / Shutterstock.com

Italian president Sergio Mattarella has quipped that the world would be better served if those in positions of power spent more time reading rather than penning self-aggrandising memoirs. Mattarella made the remarks at the Quirinale Palace on Tuesday while receiving a delegation from the Premio Strega, Italy's top literary prize, ahead of its 80th anniversary. The head of state reflected on what he described as the prize's decisive contribution of culture in accompanying the birth of the new Italy after the second world war - a contribution that, in his words, helped take weapons out of people's hands and place books in them instead. He noted that the Strega Prize had always carried a message urging people to read, to reflect and to seek understanding - a need he said is felt very keenly in the present period as well. Framing it as a quip, Mattarella suggested: "If some of the world's powerful were to dedicate themselves to reading, rather than cultivating improbable and imaginary autobiographies, we would probably all benefit". Established in 1947, the Strega Prize is held annually in Rome and has long been considered a barometer of Italian literary culture. The prize is awarded for the best work of prose fiction written in the Italian language by an author of any nationality and first published between March of the previous year and the end of February. Notable winners over the decades include classics like Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa’s  (1959) and ’s The Name of the Rose (1981), alongside modern successes such as Helena Janeczek’s The Girl with the Leica (2017). This year's event will be held on 8 July at the Campidoglio and will be broadcast on state television channel RAI 3. Photo credit: Victor Mogyldea / Shutterstock.com