Presentation of the Book “Nor Arax and the Armenians in Bari: In National and Foreign Media (1924–1962)” 19 ottobre 2026
On the occasion of the centenary of the founding of the "Nor Arax" Village—a historic symbol of the Armenian presence in Apulia’s regional capital—a day dedicated to cultural, historical, and institutional exploration will take place in Bari on Monday, October 19, 2026, organized by the Honorary Consulate of the Republic of Armenia in Bari.
The main event is scheduled for the afternoon, at 6:30 PM, in the “E. Dalfino” Council Chamber of the Municipality of Bari (Palazzo della Città), where the volume Nor Arax and the Armenians in Bari: In National and Foreign Media (1924–1962) will be presented. Spanning over 250 pages, the work collects and analyzes an extensive press review covering thirty-eight years, spanning the period between the First and Second World Wars and their aftermaths.
Co-authored by journalist Siranush Quaranta and Prof. Carlo Coppola, the book rigorously reconstructs—through the analysis of Italian and international press sources and a valuable, largely unpublished iconographic collection—the birth and evolution of the Armenian community, from its arrival in Bari up to the passing of the poet Hrand Nazariantz.
The meeting will open with institutional greetings from the Mayor of Bari, Vito Leccese, and the First Counselor of the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia in Italy, Gegham Adamyan. The contents of the volume will be presented by the authors, Siranush Quaranta and Carlo Coppola. Mimmo Mazza, editor-in-chief of La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno, will moderate and coordinate the session in dialogue with the Honorary Consul Dario Rupen Timurian, co-creator of the work. The event will also feature a musical performance by Maestro Marco Misciagna.
The day will commence at 9:30 AM in the Aldo Cossu Auditorium (Aula Magna) at the Palazzo Ateneo of the University of Bari “Aldo Moro” with a study and reflection conference titled “The Armenian Village of Nor Arax in Bari: A Centenary Looking to the Future.” The morning event is organized by the Department of Political Science at the University of Bari together with the Interuniversity Research Center for “Geopolitics and Politics of Religions,” chaired by Prof. Roberta Santoro, in collaboration with the Armenian Consular Representation in Bari.
Nor Arax and the Armenians in Bari: A New Book Reconstructs the History of the Refugee Village Through the Press
Siranush Quaranta and Carlo Coppola collect thirty-eight years of Italian and foreign articles (1924–1962) on the Armenian community of Bari.
Bari – Marking the centenary of the founding of the Nor Arax Armenian village, Nor Arax and the Armenians in Bari: In National and Foreign Media (1924–1962), written by Siranush Quaranta and Carlo Coppola and promoted by the Honorary Consulate of the Republic of Armenia in Bari, is officially released.
The volume, comprising over 250 pages, is the first annotated press review dedicated to the village. It gathers and comments on articles that Italian and international newspapers devoted to Nor Arax over thirty-eight years, between the post-WWI and post-WWII eras. The chronological arc opens with the arrival of the Armenian refugees in Bari and concludes with the death of the poet Hrand Nazariantz in 1962.
Nor Arax was built in the 1920s to welcome survivors of the Armenian Genocide, thanks to the commitment of Nazariantz and Italian institutions. Through the press reports of the era, the authors trace the village’s establishment, daily life, and evolution, highlighting its exemplary value regarding reception, integration, and dialogue between Apulia and the Armenian people.
The work relies on rare, hard-to-find, and carefully organized documents. It is accompanied by an extensive, largely unpublished collection of photographs and images that bring back to life the faces, places, and moments of a history long kept on the margins.
“A work dedicated to a long-neglected chapter: the Armenian presence in 20th-century Bari and the Nor Arax village—a precious piece in the history of the city and of Armenian identity in Italy. So that those who preceded us may continue to live, both in the vestiges of this place and in the words that tell its story.”
The Authors
Siranush Quaranta, born in Turin to an Armenian mother and an Italian father, is a freelance journalist and essayist. She holds three Master's degrees in Ethics of Peace from the University of Bari “Aldo Moro.” For years, she has researched the history of Nor Arax—of which she is one of the property owners—as well as 20th-century Armenian diaspora photography and the Byzantine-era Armenian presence in Bari. She serves as a volunteer advisor and press officer for the Honorary Consulate.
Carlo Coppola (Varese, 1979) PhD in Italian Studies, teaches literary subjects at CPIA 1 Bari “Alessandro Leogrande.” He has studied the Armenian presence in Southern Italy since 2001 and is the co-founder of the Hrand Nazariantz Study Center. His published works include Gli armeni in Sicilia (2020) and the critical edition of Henry Barby’s In the Land of Terror (2016). Since July 2024, he has served as Advisor for General Affairs to the Honorary Consul.
