The Eco Family, the Umberto Eco Foundation, and the Bottega Finzioni Foundation announce a global web marathon for the tenth anniversary of his passing. The initiative has been welcomed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is promoted through the network of Italian Cultural Institutes worldwide.
BOLOGNA / MILAN / WORLD – FEBRUARY 18-19, 2026
ECO ECO ECO – A World-Wide Talk for Umberto
Link to the YouTube channel of the Umberto Eco Foundation
Ten years after the passing of Umberto Eco, the Eco Family, the Umberto Eco Foundation, and the Bottega Finzioni Foundation jointly announce an unprecedented global event: Eco Eco Eco – A world-wide talk for Umberto. This 24-hour non-stop digital marathon marks the end of the ten years of silence requested by Eco. It will transform the Professor’s memory into a collective dialogue, inviting his immense community of readers and scholars for the first time to participate alongside the greatest names in international culture.
The event will be broadcast live via streaming on the YouTube channels of the Umberto Eco Foundation and the Bottega Finzioni ETS Foundation, beginning at 12:00 PM (CET) on February 18. At that exact moment, as midnight strikes, February 19th will first dawn on the planet in the Kiribati archipelago and the Fiji Islands.
The live broadcast will symbolically begin from the island of Taveuni (Fiji), which is crossed by the 180th meridian. It was here that Umberto Eco traveled to work on his famous novel, The Island of the Day Before, where the International Date Line allows one to “time travel” between yesterday and today. The Marathon will conclude at 12:00 PM (CET) on February 19, 2026.
A 24-Hour Journey Around the World
The marathon is designed to embrace the entire globe, moving symbolically from East to West. Crossing all time zones, the broadcast will give a voice to every country touched by Umberto Eco’s influence: from Asian universities to European ones, and across the Americas, covering the full scope of a thought that spoke every language.
The initiative, conceived by Roberto Grandi and Michele Cogo for the Bottega Finzioni Foundation, with Riccardo Fedriga and Francesca Tancini, was enthusiastically embraced by the Umberto Eco Foundation, becoming a centerpiece of the tenth-anniversary celebrations.
A Mosaic of Voices
From Bangkok to Nairobi, Seoul to Quito, Pretoria to the Azores, Mexico City to Anchorage, many will gather to remember him. Participants include translators, publishers, and storytellers like Eshkol Nevo, international journalists like Iran’s Maziar Bahari (who was released from prison in 2009 partly due to Eco’s advocacy), artists and cartoonists like Milo Manara and Igort, members of the Lincei Academy like Carlo Ossola and Lina Bolzoni, members of the Académie française like Pierre Rosenberg, and former UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova.
Alongside public contributions, participants will include Roberto Saviano, Beppe Severgnini, Michele Serra, Elisabetta Sgarbi, Mario Andreose, Luciano Canfora, Gherardo Colombo, Ferruccio De Bortoli, Aldo Grasso, and many other leading figures of Italian and international culture. Stefano Bartezzaghi will present a game inspired by Eco, Alessandro Bergonzoni will remember him with his trademark surreal language, and Moni Ovadia with a joke. Musical tributes will feature Gianni Coscia, Francesco Filidei, Paolo Fresu (on the trumpet, Eco’s favorite instrument), and Gianluigi Trovesi.
Participation of the Italian Cultural Institutes Network
The network of Italian Cultural Institutes, coordinated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, is actively participating by sending its own contributions. This institutional synergy allows the event to cover the entire global reach of Eco’s thought.
Filippo La Rosa, Deputy Director General for Growth and Exports and Central Director for the Promotion of the Italian Language, Culture, and Territories at the MAECI, states: “The network of Italian Cultural Institutes – a multifaceted geography of 88 outposts for dialogue and promotion of Italian culture – enthusiastically joins in remembering Umberto Eco. We aim to fulfill the same role as a bridge between Italy and the world that Eco so masterfully defined in his works, bringing together high and low culture, past and present, the Middle Ages and the internet.”
