In an era of global changes and new forms of exercising power, BookCity Milan (full program here) chooses to question the relationship between thought and action, between culture and society.
There fourteenth edition of the event, scheduled from 10 to 16 November and presented on Tuesday 21 October, it will transform the city into a large laboratory of widespread ideas, with events in all the municipalities and neighboring cities.
«Human history is, in essence, a history of ideas»: the quote from HG Wells perfectly summarizes the spirit of this edition. At a time when “the exercise of power takes on increasingly contradictory, aggressive and spectacular forms”, as stated in the presentation, BookCity presents itself as a space for collective reflection on the ability of culture to impact reality.
The numbers demonstrate the importance of the event: 1,359 events with 2,715 protagonists, distributed in 403 different locations, including 52 bookstores and 62 libraries – 14 of which are condominiums, a sign of a vocation deeply rooted in the territory.
Particularly significant is the rich program dedicated to the spiritual dimension. The triptych above stands out Saint Francis, which anticipates the 800 years since the death of the Saint which will fall in 2026. Three events to re-read the figure of the Poverello and reflect on his relevance: “Francesco, the first Italian” with Aldo Cazzullo on November 13th at the Corriere della Sera Foundation; “The invention of Saint Francis”, a lesson by the historian Alessandro Barbero scheduled for November 13th at the Teatro Dal Verme and, finally, “The song of the earth” with Stefano Mancusoinspired by Song of Creatures on November 15 at the Museum of Science and Technology.
The final evening at the Franco Parenti Theater on November 16th promises a confrontation of great depth: “Religiosity in a world without God” will see the atheist writer face each other Javier Cercas and the theologian Vito Mancusoin a dialogue that addresses one of the crucial issues of our time. The journalist will moderate the meeting Agnese Pini, director of National newspaper.
In addition to the spiritual core, the program offers meetings with some of the most authoritative protagonists of the cultural panorama. The inauguration at the Dal Verme Theater on November 12th will see the participation of the writer Colum McCann who will receive the Seal of the City from the mayor Giuseppe Sala, together with the journalist Cecilia Sala. The theme of this edition finds resonance both in the literature of Colum McCann, which becomes an instrument of radical listening and empathy between human beings, and in Cecilia Sala’s reportages from crisis zones, capable of describing contemporaneity with a precise, direct and unfiltered gaze.
Among the most anticipated events, “The parable of power” with Antonio Scurati and Giuseppe Antonelli (November 15); “Words: chains or tools of freedom” with Gianrico Carofiglio (November 15) and dialogue “Rekindling Italy: the challenge of change” with Mario Monti, Ferruccio de Bortoli and Stefano Caselli (November 16).
In addition to the main theme, four key words – possibilities, fragilities, opportunities and threats – guide as many transversal paths through narrative, non-fiction, poetry and journalism. Each trajectory is inspired by a verse by a great twentieth-century poet, in a collective journey between the contradictions and hopes of the contemporary world.
Also significant is the attention to crucial social issues such as adolescence and youth distressas well as a detailed reflection on love in all its forms, from romance to the prison dimension.
The preview of the Festival takes place at Piccolo Teatro Grassi Monday 3 November at 8pm with Odyssey. The most beautiful novel in the worldthe musical reading-show taken from one of the founding poems of Western culture, with the narrative voice of Nicola Gardini and the acting voice of Anna Bonaiutodirected by Davide Gasparro, music by Andrea Centonza, and videos by Riccardo Frati.
