Of Susanna Daniele
PISTOIA – The recognition, which the festival has been awarding for seven years to a person who has distinguished himself in the promotion of cultural values, was awarded to the journalist and writer Corrado Augias last night in the packed tent in Piazza del Duomo.
The prize, an artistic photo by Giovanni Amendola. The motivation: “He was able to translate his knowledge into languages that have reached an increasingly wider audience.”
During his long professional life, Augias was a true ambassador of culture, both in Italy and abroad, he was able to combine different literary genres, from essays to detective stories, from texts for theater and television to the dissemination of classic music.
In the conversation with Marco Aime, Augias retraced some episodes of his childhood and youth, commenting on them with the polite irony that distinguishes him. He spoke of the war he experienced during his childhood, of the peace enjoyed for many decades, of the fear of losing it in light of the international events of our time.
He indicates a path for the younger ones: “neither peace nor democracy are forever and must be constantly defended”. He focused on the concepts of homeland and nation, reconstructing their historical origins and the recurrence of the terms within the Constitutional Charter as well as on the value of history which, in his opinion, does not teach anything but helps to place the facts in perspective, to observe them with coldness and detachment.
It gives a severe judgment on the changes that have separated politics and culture from the 1990s up to the present day. He expressed his position on the connection between religion and spirituality and explained his position as a layman, the result of the reflection of a whole life told in his latest book which has just been released “Life is learned”.
Spirituality according to Augias is based on secular and absolutely shareable values: respecting others and the planet on which we live. In summary, it is the condition indicated by Seneca in “De tranquillitate animi”.
The very large audience applauded the journalist’s words several times.
