The 16th edition of the international
'Letterature' (Literatures) festival will this year include
events in several locations from June 20 until July 21 and not
only at the traditional venue of the Basilica di Massenzio,
where there will be 8 events.
Other meetings and initiatives will be held in Rome's
libraries and the Casa delle Letterature, including the June 8
inauguration of the exhibition 'Fiori Scarlatti. Manguste. E
Volo Notturno', with works by Elisa Montessori inspired by the
poetry of Emily Dickinson, Marianne Moore and Ingeborg Bachmann.
Among the guests to appear at the Basilica di Massenzio
evenings are Donatella Di Pietrantonio, Silvia Avallone, Carlo
Verdone, Lisa Hilton, Katie Kitamura, Sergio Rubini, Hanif
Kureishi, Jan Brokken and Melania Mazzucco.
The events, organized quickly and to be held in the middle of
the Roman summer a bit later than usual, "will not be limited to
the Basilica di Massenzio. It will also be accessible in
libraries and in the outlying areas of the capital. Alongside
the eight evenings in the center, there will be 26 others: 14 of
which will be held in libraries and in diverse areas of the
city. This means bringing Hanif Kureishi to Corviale. And this
is a important new element that builds on what was done in the
past in trying to surpass limits", deputy mayor Luca Bergamo
said at the presentation.
Opening the events in the Basilica di Massenzio - in the
traditional format of texts written especially for the festival
on the year's theme, which this year is 'Bandits of Words',
accompanied by music and readings by actors - will be Pulitzer
Prize-winning author Hisham Matar, Indian writer Amitav Ghosh
and the Italian Giuseppe Montesano.
Closing the festival on July 21 will be Francesca Cavallo and
Elena Favilli, co-authors of the bestselling 'Storie della
Buonanotte per Bambine Ribelli' ('Bedtime Stories for Rebellious
Little Girls') the most-funded book ever in the history of
crowdfunding.
A drawing workshop will be held on the book with its
illustrator, Rita Petruccioli, on July 20 at the Biblioteca
Villino Corsini Villa Pamphilj.
There will also be Ali Smith at the Casa delle Traduzioni and
Antonella Lattanzi at the Biblioteca Cornelia.
Among the noteworthy events at the Basilica di Massenzio is
the July 5 award ceremony for the winner of the fourth Premio
Strega Europeo in evening at which Colm Toibin will be the guest
of honor.
"The new element this year is that the events will welcome a
larger number of authors, sometimes four or even seven, like in
the evening of June 26, which will be entitled 'Italy-Germany: a
Match between Mystery Writers'. We don't have many resources. as
always," Maria Ida Gaeta said.
However, Simona Cives added, this edition "will draw its
strength from the 40 libraries of the capital working together".
"This is the first step, and a crucial one. The authors have
the possibility to bring their works to a public to a public"
they don't usually reach," Bergamo stressed, saying that the
cost was "a few thousand euros of difference compared with
previous years."
The deputy mayor noted that "the right to enjoy art and
culture is an essential element to rebuild collective
identities, social cohesion and thus conditions for economic
development."
And this, he said, "is why we are against the building of an
archaeological park of the Colosseum".
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