foggia prison books yellow space donation Floriana Conte

A new library in the Foggia prison. Thanks to Professor Floriana Conte who donated the mini “Ciaia Library” to the Lavori in Corso association, made available by Laterza on the occasion of the “Giambattista Gifuni” Award, won by the Foggia teacher.

THE INITIATIVE. The volumes will implement the supply of books intended for boys and girls who visit their parents detained in the Foggia penitentiary which hosts the Yellow Space. “I am very happy to have had this opportunity – says Floriana Conte, professor of History of modern and contemporary art and Museology of the Department of Humanistic Studies of the University of Foggia -. The Gifuni Prize has had a tradition for more than 20 years now of awarding the winner a small library which does not go to the winner but is to be allocated to a situation particularly in need of books, to be read in common. We therefore thought of the Lavori in Corso association because we wanted to donate it to the prison and local community. Furthermore, the Gifuni family has ties to the Capitanata. Reading aloud reveals itself in the experience of each of us as something that creates lasting bonds with the community, and will give children and parents new words with which to live a different life”. “The book is the privileged tool that we use with our operators to strengthen family bonds in prison – adds the lawyer Antonietta Clemente of Aps Lavori in Corso -. The book thus becomes a bridge between inside and outside, and an instrument of legality”. In the Yellow Space there are several selected books, suitable for children aged 0-6, as well as volumes for older children. The ones illustrated are fundamental, demonstrating that beauty can be exhibited and explained to adults and children. “This space is important for us because it reduces the impact of prison for minors, innocent victims of their parents’ mistakes – states Giulia Magliulo, Director of the Foggia Prison -. Today this function is amplified because, thanks to the donation of the Gifuni Prize, culture has a preventive function against crime. When we arrive in this place we try to put a different person back into society, but if we manage to intervene earlier we can prevent the person from ending up in prison”.

THE PRIZE. The event, promoted and organized by the Nuove Proposte Culturali Foundation, represented a unique opportunity to celebrate the importance of culture and reading. The volumes will also be used in the External Criminal Enforcement Office where fathers, mothers and children will meet around the illustrated books. The Gifuni Prize, named after the great librarian of Lucera who was an interlocutor and friend of the major intellectuals of the twentieth century (Ungaretti, Bacchelli, Bartoccini etc.), aims to recognize and honor leading figures of Italian and foreign culture who have contributed to underlining the the importance of books and reading in contemporary society.