The “Books in Court” exhibition returns to Garbagnate Milanesenow in its ninth edition: three days of readings, meetings with prominent authors and organized workshops for children and teenagers from Friday 3 to Sunday 5 May by the municipal administration in the spaces of the Corte Valenti civic library in via Monza.
The event will open on Friday 3 May at 9am in the library hall with a meeting reserved for middle school students with Giacomo Mazzariol, the young author of the coming-of-age novel “My brother chases dinosaurs” (Einaudi), from which the film of the same name was based with Isabella Ragonese and Alessandro Gassmann: a touching story that tells the evolution of the relationship between two brothersone of whom suffers from Down syndrome, through the delicate phases of childhood and adolescence, until the maturation of a relationship of complicity and profound friendship.
The next event, at 4pm, is with the Milanese journalist and writer Giancarlo Mele, who will present “Il rapace” (Meravigli), a novel centered on the figure of Duke Galeazzo Maria Sforza, with the haughty and strong-willed character who ruled the Duchy of Milan from 1466 to 1476. Love and death are intertwined in the plot of this “Sforza thriller” which however does not fail to explore the innermost soul of the main characters. Mele is also the author of numerous publications dedicated to the Martesana canal.
At 6pm it will then be the writer’s turn Alice Basso, who will present “A party in black” (Garzanti), his new mystery, the second in a series of novels set in Turin in the 1930s. The last appointment of the first day will feature Aurelio “Cochi” Ponzoni, which at 8.30pm will present “La versione di Cochi” (Baldini+Castoldi), written in collaboration with Paolo Crespi. The memoir traces 60 years of career in music, theatre, cabaret and television of the beloved (and reserved) Milanese artist, famous in the collective imagination for having formed a historic comedy duo with Renato Pozzetto. He will be followed by a reception in the fireplace room.
On Saturday 4 May, starting from 3pm, some will take place in the children’s section of the library workshops dedicated to comics, in the presence of illustrators Fabrizio De Fabritiis (Sergio Bonelli Editore, Emmetre Edizioni), Daniele Rudoni (Marvel, Mangasenpai), Bruno Testa (Hanna-Barbera, Mattel) e Mattia Croce (The memory of the world), who will draw live together with the young participants. To register for the workshops, booking is required: tel. 0278618700; email: [email protected].
It will begin at 4pm in the hall the “afternoon in crime” with Marina Visentin and the presentation of his “The eyes of the night” (SEM), a thriller whose protagonist is the young deputy commissioner Giulia Ferro, dealing with a particularly dramatic case: the death of a seven-year-old girl, who disappeared while leaving school and body found in a grove on the edge of the North Park. Immediately after, at 5pm, the Emilian writer Riccardo Landini will meet the public to illustrate “The deceptive charm of the past” (Laurana Editore), his latest novel, an intriguing and introspective noir that follows the vicissitudes of Brenno Sandrelli, an insurance expert and private investigator overwhelmed by debt.
The events dedicated to crime fiction will end at 6pm with the authors Paolo Roversi and Bea Buozzi, who will present their novels together. The first published “The Shadow of Solitude” (Marsilio), which sees the enterprising journalist-hacker Enrico Radeschi at the center of a series of mysteries that delve into the darkest folds of Milan; the second, after the success of “The year of words found”, winner of the 2023 Bancarella Selection Award, has recently published “The year of crossed destinies” (Morellini), which takes us back to the tenants of Palazzo Ranieri, to Milan.
The evening will feature, at 9pm, the well-known television journalist Tiziana Ferrario, who will present “Cenere” (Fuoriscena), his new work: a historical novel set in the Lombard capital between the 19th and 20th centuries which, through the story of the friendship between two little girls from very different social backgrounds, tells the story of the dawn of female emancipation and first steps taken by women towards equality yet to be achieved.
Sunday 5 May will open with two workshops reserved for the little ones (you must book for these events too; tel. 0278618700; email: [email protected]): the first, aimed at children aged 5 to 10, is entitled “The sea I would like” and will take place at 3pm in the study room with the illustrator Gianluigi Castelli, author of “The true story of Palamita Jane” (Myra), who will involve those present by inviting them to draw and using colored chalk; the second workshop, scheduled for 4pm in the children’s section, will be dedicated to children up to 5 years old. Melania Longocurator of the meeting and author of the book “Tana (Il Castoro)”, will guide the participants in imagining a safe refuge where they can play and fantasize.
In the meantime, at 3.30 pm, book presentations will begin again in the lounge with a group of local authors: Federico Di Girolamo, Massimo Rizzardi, Dino Scaldaferri and Lucia Tiziani. At 4.30 pm the Swedish author Anna Brännström will present “Nordic thought” (Giunti Editore), an essay written together with Ida Montrasio on the Scandinavian world: a journey to discover landscapes, history, politics, lifestyles, culinary traditions and customs of fascinating and ancient lands. The awards ceremony for the scholarship winners will take place at 5.30pm reserved for students of first and second level secondary schools in Garbagnate Milanese.
Not to be missed at 6pm the last meeting of “Libri in Corte” with Pierluigi Marzoratione of the most famous Italian basketball players of all time, who made Pallacanestro Cantù and the national team great in the 70s and 80s and who will present the biography “The legend of the flying engineer” (A.CAR editions) together with Raffaele Geminiani, Luca Nava and Alberto Figliolia. At the end of the event, an aperitif will be offered in the fireplace room.
