Florence is «The city of readers» – Corriere.it

Five days, over one hundred guests, tributes, dialogues, readings and lessons: the festival The city of readers which is staged from Wednesday 7 to Sunday 11 June in Florence, in the scenographic Villa Bardini. The initiative, now in its sixth edition, is organized by the CR Firenze Foundation and the Wimbledon Aps Association.

Reading changes the whole motto that has always characterized the event, directed by Gabriele Ametrano and which is confirmed by the guest on the opening day, the British writer Bernardine Evaristowinner of the Booker Prize 2019, with Girl, woman, other and that in the bookstore also with the dystopian story Blonde roots (both published by Sur); Evaristo talks with the linguist Vera Gheno. The physicist Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), born in Pisa and died in Arcetri, Florence, plays almost at home here: to the father of the scientific method dedicated the cycle, edited by Lavinia Ferrone, The light in the dark labyrinthfor the 400th anniversary of the publication of his treatise The Assayer: the homage includes, on the 8th, a series of meetings: with the neuroscientist Giorgio Vallortigara starting from the book Brains that matter (Adelphi), flanked by Luca San Mauro; with science historian Massimo Bucciantini, who in the book In another world (the Assayer) recounts three revolutionary lives, as well as Galileo, Vincent van Gogh and Primo Levi; he talks about it with Fiorenza Toccafondi; finally, with the biologist and scientific popularizer Antonella Viola, who in her book The way of balance (Feltrinelli) investigates the science of longevity. Also on the 8th the project is presented Galileo (R)Evolution with Roberto Ferrari, director of the Galileo Galilei museum in Florence, and Stefano Mutolo, director of Berta Film, with a screening of the trailer of the documentary on the scientist, commissioned by the museum in collaboration with Inaf-Astrophysical Observatory of Arcetri, the Airc foundation for cancer research, Astronomical observatory in the Pistoia mountains.

Marco Malvaldi also speaks of Galilei in his new book Dark and sky blue (Joined), a historical thriller immediately among the bestselling titles: the author, who was born in the city of Galilei, talks about it on the 10th in the meeting entitled not by chance From Pisan to Pisan. Two tributes to key figures of music. The first Freddie Mercury (1946-1991), songwriter and frontman of Queen to whom the volume is dedicated The last Freddie Mercury (Sperling & Kupfer) by the director of Corriere Fiorentino Roberto De Ponti, who talks about it on the 10th with Malvaldi, musical accompaniment by The Royal Band–Queen tribute. The second tribute, on the 11th, to the storyteller Rosa Balistreri (1927-1990) starting from the biographical volume by Stefania Aphel Barzini My home is an island (Giunti) to continue in music with the recital by Ginevra Di Marco.

One of the thematic strands of the 2023 edition de The city of readers the fairy tale: on the 9th I will be a guest the Strega-awarded writer For Expatriates (Einaudi) Mario Desiati, who intervenes with a lectio dedicated to The origins of the fairytale world; to follow, the writer Laura Pugno will grapple with a fairytale creature, a mermaid, in the volume Melusine (Hacca Edizioni) presented with the illustrator Elisa Seitzinger and Martina Lazzerini.

Also expected on the 9th in Florence the authors and authors of the five finalists of the Strega prize, whose names will be announced on Wednesday 7; the meeting organized by the journalist Simonetta Sciandivasci.

There are many weekend appointments that have to do with various titles the power of reading and the strength of the tongue. the case, on the 10th, of the meeting with Stefano Guarnieri, father of a 17-year-old boy who was the victim of street violence, who, starting from the book he edited The value of words (Giunti) will reflect on the language used by the media to describe cases of road victims; with the participation of Maurizio Auriemma, questore of the province of Florence and Elisabetta Mancini, senior manager of the State Police, moderated by Vanessa Pellegrino Monti, chief commissioner of the State Police.

Also on the 10th, Vivian Lamarque presents a poetic reading; the writers Leonardo Gori and Marco Vichi, four-handed authors of the book Stolen lives, confront Luigi Brioschi, president of the Guanda publishing house that publishes the novel; and, on the theme of eros, the illustrator Wally Pain (alias Luana Belsito), the illustrator Roberto Baldazzini and the writer Melissa Panarello, the Melissa P. of the longseller are expected 100 strokes of the brush… (Fazi, now reissued by Bompiani).

Sunday 11 we begin with a chat around Ennio Flaiano with Tommaso Pincio, author of Diary of a Martian summer (Giulio Perrone publisher), finalist for the Campiello 2023 prize. And we continue with Carlo Vecce, scholar of the figure and work of Leonardo da Vinci, author of the novel Catherine’s smile (Joints) in which it advances new hypotheses on the origins of the mother of the brilliant inventor. And again on the 11th it was the turn of Alberto Zanobini, general manager of the Meyer children’s hospital in Florence and president of the Italian pediatric hospitals association (Aopi), who The courage of the future (La nave di Teseo) tells his idea of ​​care and good practices to make the hospital an increasingly welcoming, humane and colorful place; Zanobini talks with Paolo Ermini. Finally, the writer Fabio Genovesi talks on the 11th with Andrea Geloni about his novel Pure gold (Mondadori, out on the 6th) set in 1492 on the caravel bound for the New World.

The review

The city of readers is held in Florence from 7 to 11 June, at Villa Bardini (costa San Giorgio 2; admission free). The review, organized by the CR Firenze Foundation and the Wimbledon Aps Association, is divided into various stages in centers of Tuscany: the 2023 edition started from Prato and, after the stage in Florence, will be in Grosseto in June (21 and 22), in Arezzo (from 24 to 26) and in other locations. The program on the website: lacittadeilettori.it