A strong sense of identity and Christian values are the common denominator between Hungarians and Italians, said János Csák, Minister for Culture and Innovation, as he inaugurated the statue of the head of writer Sándor Márai on the Salerno seafront promenade on Friday.
János Csák said that Sándor Márai probably watched the unveiling of the statue of him from above on the Salerno seafront. Speaking in Hungarian, the Minister thanked the Mayor of Salerno, Vincenzo Napoli, for the love and appreciation shown to Sándor Márai, who lived in Salerno for twelve years. He thanked Renato Mazzei, president of the Italian-Hungarian Cultural Association named after the Hungarian writer, for his work to ensure that Márai was once again given a statue in one of the most visited places in the southern Italian city.
Sándor Márai loved Italy and the whole Mediterranean region. When he moved away from here, he first went to New York, but he didn't feel well, he had to move on to San Diego, where the climate is similar, even the sea is similar to Salerno," said János Csák.He added that in his life and works, Sándor Márai was looking for how to live in harmony with nature and our fellow human beings: this is something that we Hungarians and Italians have in common (...), as well as the fact that we have a strong identity, we know who we are and we are proud of it. He said that only those who know who they are understand each other. The minister also referred to Christianity as a common value shared by Hungarians and Italians, and recalled the common Hungarian-Italian historical links, mentioning the Angevin kings from the Naples region. He stressed that cultural relations are still strong thanks to the work of the Collegium Hungaricum, the Hungarian Cultural Institute in Rome, which is active throughout the country, and the Italian Cultural Institute in Budapest. The ceremony was attended by Gábor Kudar, director of the Collegium Hungaricum (commonly known as the Hungarian Academy of Rome) in Rome, and Judit Jáky, daughter of the writer's nephew.
Vincenzo Napoli, mayor of Salerno, in his welcome speech, stressed that Sándor Márai, despite being a great writer, whose works have been translated into a hundred and twenty languages, was characterised by the same great modesty. Sándor Márai, who died in 1989, lived with his wife in Salerno, just over fifty kilometres from Naples, between 1968 and 1980. A memorial plaque was placed on the wall of his former home in 2000. In 2006, a bust of the writer was erected on the town's seafront promenade, but it was stolen in the last days of 2009 and the authorities have not been able to find it. Salerno is the only non-Hungarian town to have a statue in honour of Sándor Márai.
Sándor Márai's first Italian translation was published in 1938 with the novel Divorce in Buda. The Hungarian author was rediscovered by the Italian public in 1988, when the Italian version of The Candles Burn Till Stumpy became a bestseller.
According to the local news portal SalernoToday, Sándor Márai lived in the southern Italian town, completely cut off from literary society and cultural life, but surrounded by the love of the locals. The portal recalled that Salerno was the birthplace of his book Earth, Earth!
Source.
