New Delhi, Jan 19 Indian literature and publishing is set to make a mark in Europe in the summer of 2010, with India being nominated the guest country at the Turin International Book Fair in Italy beginning May 17.

Known as the Salone Internazionale del Libro di Torino, the fair is one of the largest showcases dedicated to publishing, reading, culture, sale and display of books.

The Turin Salone is founded on three balanced identities -- an important commercial showcase, an immense bookshop and a cultural festival.

India has always played a leading role in the collective imagination of Italians -- to the point of appearing as a refuge and place of radical difference for those "who feel dissatisfied with Western models of life and thought", a spokesperson for the fair said.

Said Angela Tereza, director of the Italian Culture Institute: "India is like a pool of age-old spirituality, myths and legends, a crucible of civilisations and languages. It is today asserting itself as the second industrial power in Asia, even if it sees the accentuation of its harrowing contradictions between poverty and new wealth, tradition and modernity."