Massimo Bray appointed culture councillor for Apulia region

Massimo Bray, former Italian Minister of Culture and current director of the Treccani Encyclopedia Foundation, has been appointed as the new councillor for Culture and Tourism for the Apulia region. The appointment was made by Governor Michele Emiliano, despite party leadership backing Ernesto Abaterusso. Bray, born in Lecce in 1959, served as Minister of Cultural Heritage and Tourism in the Letta government from 2013 to 2014. He joined the Institute of the Italian Encyclopedia in 1991, becoming editorial director in 1994 and general director in 2015. Under his leadership, Treccani launched an encyclopedia of contemporary art directed by Vincenzo Trione and the recent 'Enciclopedia d'Artista' project featuring artists like Gianfranco Baruchello. Bray also chaired the board of the La Notte della Taranta Foundation, which organizes Europe's largest folk music festival, and presided over the Foundation for Book, Music and Culture, overseeing the 2017 and 2018 editions of the Turin Book Fair. He writes a blog on culture for the Italian edition of Huffington Post.