From the myth of Prometheus to tell the ambiguity of a territory, to the meaning of words, such as “revolt”, to explain the meaning of a project that sees Calabria represented in the world through the promotion of the book. Intense days in which Taurianova, the nascent Italian book capital, is introducing itself to Calabria, through meetings which give rise to reflections, contaminations and active participation.
From Cassano to the Ionian where the Mayor Rocco Biasi, together with the councilor for culture and artistic director of Taurianova Capitale del Libro Maria Fedele, received the 38th Troccoli Magna Grecia Award from the Calabria Region precisely for the work carried out in the promotion of the book , in Catanzaro, the regional capital which saw the Capital of the Book as a guest of the XXI Gutenberg Fair – the visionary project founded by Armando Vitale which actively involves schools and young people -, in the participation of initiatives such as the donation of books and the meeting with the young people of the Ministerial Minor Community of Catanzaro, an important project carried out by shared Calabria.
“The entire community is mobilizing to achieve a common goal: to make Taurianova a point of reference for southern Italy – commented councilor Maria Fedele – to ensure that this recognition can have concrete impacts on our territory.
And we are very proud of the fact that this is already happening, primarily through the library that has come back to life, but also through various projects of which the city is proud, such as the inauguration, a few days ago, of the Borgo Sociale for migrants, and the donation of books to the minor community of Catanzaro. A long series of initiatives that work in multiple directions, but which are based on the desire to promote integration, social equality, and active cooperation between territories”.
Having kicked off the Capital of the Book year on 16 May with the conference on “Contrasting educational poverty”, the first part of the “Taurianova Legge” program sees a rich program of events, made up of book presentations, artistic exhibitions and conferences, hosting not only local, emerging authors and small publishers, but also important figures on the national scene, as well as Calabrian writers and scholars who have valorised the cultural heritage of Calabria, such as the linguistic and anthropological one, while at the same time recounting its most important pages. difficulties in its recent history.
At the center of the meetings, highly current issues capable of opening reflections on numerous contemporary questions: from armed conflicts – an issue addressed in the book “The rest is silence” by Chiara Ingrao, presented at the opening of the exhibition – to the impact of new infrastructures on society and on the environment, protagonist of the new novel by Campiello Prize winner Carmine Abate, “A happy country” (Mondadori, 2023).
“A happy country” tells the story of Erava, a small town founded at the end of the nineteenth century near Gioia Tauro, and which just under a century later was razed to the ground, expropriating the inhabitants and uprooting over 700 thousand trees among centuries-old olive trees, citrus groves, pines and eucalyptus, to make room for a steel center that was never built, where the current port stands today.
Intertwining historical truth and narrative fiction, the novel retraces some of the most difficult years for the Reggio area, between political and social emergencies and the constant presence of the ‘Ndrangheta, always ready to get their hands on public money. Dialogue with the author is Fabio Cuzzola, a historian who dedicated texts and research to the Reggio uprisings of the 1970s.
“Erava’s story is an unknown one, in some ways even removed – explained Carmine Abate – of which I didn’t even know anything. One day I was in the tent city of San Ferdinando to write another book on migration and a gentleman, grasping the dismayed in my gaze, he told me “here before there was a fragrant paradise, a town with a beautiful name”, pointing to a distant place towards the port of Gioia Tauro.
When I heard this name,Sonova, I understood that there was a utopia inside it and I wanted to know more. In my books I always talk about two aspects of Calabria, the beauty and the wounds. Calabria, or rather, Calabria, is a complex land, full of problems, but also of many riches that are important to be highlighted.”
