Milan, the literature hub of Italy, is home to many renowned writers. This Smart City has a historic and beautiful design, including a thriving arts sector.
Milan is the centre of Italian publishing, representing 15% of the national book market. "Milan has long asserted a rich literary tradition having been the home to Umberto Eco, Carlo Porta, Alessandro Manzoni, as well as Nobel laureates Eugenio Montale and Dario Fo. The city also inspired and attracted many renowned writers including Stendhal and Ernest Hemingway" (Milan, 2019).
The literature sector today is the economic backbone of Milan, hosting 51% of all Italian publishing firms, 35 literary agencies and over 20 active professional associations (Milan, 2019). "As part of its Smart City Strategy, Milan has been further reflecting on the digital value for literature, notably through the BooksinItaly.it initiative" (Milan, 2019). The municipality has been working closely with the private sector to promote literature as a socio-economic driver. An example of this cooperation is "the Patto di Milano per la Lettura (Milan Pact for Reading) project which has helped restoring value to the act of reading as an essential part of citizenship. Milan also played a key role in the creation of Città del Libro; a network of Italian Cities of Books promoting literature and reading as a mean to improve quality of life, social inclusion and economic growth. Support
Moving forward, Milan has the the potential of equipping the city with a system for monitoring and documenting the literature arts. The "creating of a laboratory, in partnership with other Creative Cities of Literature, aimed at monitoring the evolution of new opportunities offered by both the paper and digital publishing industry to the job market" (Milan, 2019) would serve highly into the development of Milan as a front runner in literature arts.
Through strong networks and community involvement, the creative economy of Milan helps produce growth in the economic powerhouse that Berlin is. The creative economy of literature is not necessarily reliant on individual stakeholders, but more on the community itself. The demand literature produces will continue to be a driving force and will grow community involvement in Berlin.
(Steves, R, 2019)
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