Geronimo Stilton goes on tour in Italy.

Geronimo Stilton, the hugely popular series of children's books by Italian writer Elisabetta Dami, celebrates 25 years with events and initiatives across Italy.

The books follow the adventures of Geronimo Stilton, a a mild-mannered mouse who is the editor and publisher of the newspaper The Rodent's Gazette.

"The children consider me the 'Mamma of Geronimo Stilton'" - Dami told news agency ANSA - "Even today this moves me like the first time and I consider it a sign of great affection and trust that motivates me to commit myself with the same love... for the next 25 years!"

The character Geronimo Stilton came into being in 1990 after Dami discovered that she was unable to have children of her own.

"At that moment, I sought a new way to express my desire for motherhood and began volunteering in paediatric hospitals" - Dami states - "This is how his first adventures came to life: to bring a smile to sick children."

The books have since been translated into over 50 languages and have sold more than 187 million copies worldwide.

It is estimated that a copy of Geronimo Stilton is sold every minute in Italy where the mouse's adventures have been transformed into an animated series co-produced with Rai Fiction.

Geronimo Stilton launched a nationwide tour in Messina on Wednesday and in the coming weeks is set to meet children in bookstores, fairs and schools in Rome, Lazio, Calabria, Puglia, Tuscany and Piemonte.