There is a small village in the Municipality of Mulazzo called Pradola di Castevoli. It has 15 inhabitants and for a few days also a library. It was opened by Mariangela Cibrario who wants to transform Pradola into a village where friendship for books is born. It is true, there are few inhabitants but the library, which is called “Trees and Books”, is well stocked and by taking a trip to the small village you can discover new pages to remember, and make new friends. “A village without books is like a body without a soul” recited an old adage. So Pradola, thanks to Mariangela’s passion for literature, now boasts a library and adds a brick of civilization to the garrison of a territory that has the vocation of the printed page.
In the old stable on display there are not only books but also trees drawn, printed, embroidered, made of iron, wood, paper, because Mariangela is a restorer, bookseller and artist. Then paperbacks, hardcover books, catalogues, essays and novels: all planets capable of feeding the imagination. At the baptism of the small library on Sunday there were those who brought chairs, wine and hugs. “There was Marisa, the dean of the village whose kindness I could not give up, the kids who chose the books to read during the holidays – says Mariangela – And many friends who came to share the joy. We exchanged gifts: books, flowers, fruit, food, resolutions and future projects”.
How did she end up in Pradola? “It happened three years ago. I am originally from Acqui Terme, in the province of Alessandria, and for years I was a restorer of ancient books. Then I moved on to phase two, I began to study them, also publishing catalogs in Italy and abroad. After that I opened a bookshop in Acqui that I managed for 25 years, before selling it when I decided I had worked enough”. Then Mariangela traveled for a while and arrived in Lunigiana by chance, recommended by a friend who at the time lived in Pradola.
“I liked the place and when she moved I bought the house because I decided that this was a good place to live”. After restoring the house, Mariangela also worked on the former stable which she transformed into a library and reading room. “I hope it will be transformed into a small meeting space – she continues -. I know that the Municipality of Mulazzo is famous for the stories of its itinerant booksellers who went around the villages to sell almanacs and novels, so I hope that my little project can fit well into the tradition of the stalls”. Mariangela has dedicated her life to the pleasure of reading. Only in this way do books live and answer the questions of those who read, also influencing biographies.
The restorer-bookseller had many books left in the warehouse from her previous job. She had already donated many of them to various institutions in the Piedmont area, but with the last remaining stock she decided to open a library in her new town. She doesn’t impose books, but gives them away, offers them and lends them. There was a moment when perhaps she looked for different inspirations, but the imprinting of the book eventually came back to make itself felt. Now her library works “on demand”, by reservation, and several people have already visited her shelves, not only to ask for books, but also to chat about reading and authors.
A showcase of his initiative will open at the Montereggio Book Festival from July 26 to 28. Among the ideas for the summer are also meetings with animated readings together with the Sarzana actress Angela Teodorowsky, a way to rediscover his graphics and illustrations as well as his passion for ancient books. But this is only the starting point because the library will not remain an end in itself. In perspective, “Trees and Books” should become a meeting and cultural center, able to bring together interests and moments of meeting to be experienced together to give life, color, content and reflections of great interest in a hamlet that, as happens every year, in the summer season returns to repopulate.
Natalino Benacci
