Library helps nurture Vietnam - Italy relations

Hanoi, May 19 (VNA) – With more than 5,000 books in Italian, Vietnamese, and other languages, the “Ho Chi Minh and Vietnam” Library in Todi, a city in the Italian region of Umbria, has become a destination for Italian and international visitors wishing to learn about Vietnam and its late leader. Talking to the Vietnam News Agency, Todi Mayor Antonino Ruggiano said the library dedicated to President Ho Chi Minh and Vietnam holds great significance as it helps the city connect with the revolutionary leader and Vietnam, one of the most charming and extraordinary countries in the Orient. It also gives locals a chance to gain an insight into the history of Vietnam, as well as the important role of Ho Chi Minh and his journey in the 20th century to seek independence and freedom for the country. Local authorities plan to hold several events and workshops to help Italian people, including those in Todi, learn more about President Ho Chi Minh and Vietnam, he noted. The library is set to open a centre for the Vietnamese culture studies to serve scholars and students as well as those interested in this topic. It will also organise conferences and meetings to look into the past and current Vietnam from cultural, social, political, and economic dimensions. In particular, with support from the Todi administration and the Vietnamese Embassy in Italy, the library will hold a conference on the 50th anniversary of the two countries’ relations. Giuseppe Bearzi, Honorary President of INTRA, a cultural, non-political, and non-profit association that coordinated with Todi city and Nora Tagliazucchi to establish the library, said the image of President Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam is like that of revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi in Italy in the 19th century, noting that both led resistance wars to put an end to the separation of their countries and regain complete national reunification. All the books about President Ho Chi Minh and Vietnam at the library have been listed on the Anobii social network so that they can be known around the world. Deana Mannaioli, Chairwoman of the Pegaso cultural association, described the history of Vietnam with the struggle for peace led by President Ho Chi Minh as very special, expressing her hope that the Italian people who have been cooperating with Vietnam will jointly share these knowledge and historical values./.