Farewell to Caterina Bottari Lattes, president of the Bottari Lattes Foundation

“Those who knew her will always remember her incessant commitment to the diffusion of culture and art, which since 2009 Caterina has expressed through the activities of the Foundation dedicated to her husband Mario Lattes. From Caterina’s dream of broadening her knowledge of the artist and publisher with whom she shared thirty years of her life, a cultural adventure was born which had unexpected ramifications and artistically relevant fruits – we read in the Foundation’s condolence message – For almost twenty years The headquarters of the Foundation itself was a crossroads of beauty which hosted art exhibitions and photography exhibitions. It also featured great artists, both Italian and international, already known to the general public or to be rediscovered, making its own the cultural promotion activity undertaken by Mario Lattes, Italo Cremona, Carol Rama, Amedeo Modigliani, are just some of the authors exhibited during the temporary exhibitions.

Born in Pisa on 24 June 1937, Caterina Bottari moved with her family to Turin when she was three years old, where she graduated from the Liceo Classico D’Azeglio, then studying philosophy in Rome. Having returned to the Piedmontese capital, she had worked at the Utet publishing house for ten years, collaborating with Alberto Basso on a musical encyclopedia. Having moved to the Lattes publishing house, she married the publisher Mario Lattes (1923-2001) as her second wife. She was president of the board of directors of the Lattes publishing house and in November 2009 she created the Bottari Lattes Foundation.

Through literature, to which she paid particular attention, Caterina Bottari Lattes wanted to enhance the heritage of the Langhe while maintaining an international vocation, hosting Italian and foreign writers of global importance in the Alba area, through the Lattes Grinzane Prize. Among these Haruki Murakami, Jonathan Safran Foer, Margaret Atwood, Ian McEwan, Amos Oz, Maaza Mengiste, Martin Amis; in addition to the Italians Nicola Lagioia, Alessandro Baricco, Claudio Magris.

Its vision, aimed at promoting closeness between young people and culture on every occasion, has guided most of the initiatives undertaken by the Foundation: from Vivolibro, an event dedicated to the little ones, through the school juries protagonists of the Lattes Grinzane Award, up to becoming a supporter of the Poetic Translation Award established by the University of Turin.

This is how her grandchildren remember her: “Caterina Bottari Lattes passed away peacefully after a life of storms and adventures, for none of which she ever thought it was too late. Death found her alive and combative. After a certain age, she no longer played nice. To this we owe her tangible and shared cultural heritage.” “His example and his intellectual legacy will always guide the Foundation for years to come”, underlines the Foundation. (by Paolo Martini)