After Albania and Croatia, Norway will be the third stop of the travelling exhibitions dedicated to Hugo Pratt and Corto Maltese: from 18 January to 22 March in Oslo

“Hugo Pratt, the heritage, the artwork, the biography”: this is the project promoted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in collaboration with Cong, which brings drawn literature to Italian Consulates and Italian Cultural Institutes around the world with a travelling exhibition.

This wonderful journey began months ago, with the launch of the “An Adventure for Corto” project, through which the Farnesina asked the students of Italian schools around the world to write a story with Corto Maltese as the protagonist, drawing inspiration from the places and experiences they had during their journey abroad. Hugo Pratt’s alter-ego thus became a new language code, to transmit the values of Italian art and culture: 16 classes from 11 countries participated, taking Corto to the Argentinean Land of Fire, to Libya, to Turkey, to Lake Balaton in Hungary, on the train from Girardot to Bogotà, to the bazaar of Kerman in ancient Persia, to the brink of Mount Batur, an active volcano in Indonesia, fully capturing the character’s spirit of adventure, fascination, inclusion and depth.

In October 2023 – during the Conference of the Directors of Italian Cultural Institutes, Embassy Counsellor Marco Maria Cerbo announced the winners of the competition, the students of class IV of the scientific high school of Tehran’s Italian school “Pietro della Valle”. Their story, scripted by Marco Steiner and drawn by Giuseppe Camuncoli became a comic strip “In Persia, the Springtime of Corto Maltese” (which will soon be available in pdf on our website).

But the meeting of the States General of Cultural Diplomacy in Florence was also an opportunity to present the second part of the project, namely the travelling exhibitions dedicated to Hugo Pratt and Corto Maltese, chosen to represent Italian language and culture in the world. The exhibition is entitled “Hugo Pratt, the heritage, the work, the biography” and has already passed through the Consulate General of Italy in Vlore, Albania, and the Archaeological Museum in Pula on the initiative of the Consulate General of Italy in Rijeka, Croatia.

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In a few days the third stage of this wonderful journey will be inaugurated: see you in Oslo, at the Italian Cultural Institute, from 18th January to 22nd March 2024.

The Hugo Pratt and Corto Maltese exhibition, conceived by Patrizia Zanotti, traces – even if briefly – the stages of Pratt’s life and artistic scenarios. There are panels devoted to South America, Asia, the Celtic world, Ethiopia, Venice and the Pacific Ocean, and two others to biographies of Pratt and Corto Maltese. Each panel shows the texts relating to the images on display in Italian and English.

The opening is scheduled at 6.30 p.m. and telling the life of Hugo Pratt and the story of Corto Maltese will be Jon Rognlien, translator of all volumes in the Corto Maltese series, and publisher Alexander Leborg. The entire exhibition will also be on display at the Serieteket – Deichman Grünerløkka from 1st to 15th February 2024.