here comes the newsletter #150 of «la Lettura»- Corriere.it

Two writers who, in the 19th and 20th centuries, transformed the way of narrating Italy, the world and ourselves. I am Alessandro Manzoni (1785-1873) and Italo Calvino (1923-1985) . In 2023 it will be one hundred and fifty years after the death of the first (but also two hundred after the first completion of his novel, in the version of the Fermo and Lucia), and one hundred from the birth of the second.

In the text that opens the newsletter #150 of Reading arriving on Friday 30 December via email, the Italianist Alberto Casadei proposes a parallel between the two authors: Today we know how much counted the Manzoni investigator of the abysses of the heart and the distortions of justice, in particular for Gadda or for Sciascia or for Levi. But even Calvino’s clear and exact writing transmits, if interpreted in depth, contradictions and attempts at utopias. Surely, we continue to need these narrative models. The text by Alberto Casadei anticipates his broader intervention for the new issue of la Lettura, #579.

In addition to the usual advice from the editorial staff on what to read, watch and listen to, the newsletter of la Lettura – which arrives every Friday to the subscribers of the App de la Lettura who wish or to subscribers from here – on Friday 30 also offers a text by Stefano Bucci on the celebrations for the 30th anniversary of the Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Collection, among the artistic appointments of 2023 that Bucci himself writes about in insert #579.

This week, for New Year’s Eve, the release of the supplement has been pushed forward by one day: the new issue will be on newsstands exceptionally Monday 2 and Sunday 1 January (day when newspapers don’t come out) will come preview in the App. The insert opens with four of the anniversaries that mark 2023. Alongside the text by Alberto Casadei on Manzoni and Calvino, the composer Nicola Campogrande compares the revolutionary voices of dith Piaf – sixty years after his death – and of Maria Callas – one hundred from birth. The supplement also features Severino Colombo’s interview with the faceless writer Erin Doom, which does not reveal its identity; an article by Paolo Mereghetti on all Pinocchio of the cinema; and a text by the writer Roberto Ferrucci on Roger Federerwhom he considers the best tennis player ever.

In addition to the newsletter and the most recent issue of the insert, subscribers to the App de la Lettura (downloadable from the App Store and Google Play) have access to the archive of all issues since 2011. And every day they find an extra digital-only insight: the theme of the day. That of Friday 30 December is a text by Elisabetta Rosaspina on Catalan cultural identity.

Subscribing to the Reading App for smartphones and tablets costs money and 3.99 a month or 39.99 a year, with one week free. The subscription can also be subscribed from the desktop starting from this page. For subscribers, the contents are also visible from PCs and Macs starting from their Profile page. Furthermore, a one-year subscription to the App can be given as a gift via the web from here or by purchasing a Gift Card in Librerie.coop.