On Saturday 15 June at 6.00 pm the Silent Reading Party formula returns to Bari on another of the most beautiful rooftops in Bari, the terraces of the De Gemmis Library, Strada Lamberti 3, in the heart of the old city. This time too, an event that sold out in just a few hours, an opportunity to share reading in common spaces. It was organized by the Bari Book Presidia in collaboration with Ilenia Caito, literary activist, the Bandelle Collective, in partnership with Bageloop, a new gastronomic reality in the city and with the extraordinary participation of the writer Leonardo Piccione.
THE EVENT: New York inspiration, an entirely Bari creation for this new Silent Reading Party in the city. The objective, as always, is to promote a moment of shared reading in prestigious locations, but above all significant for the cultural life of Bari. The group of readers participating in the event will have access to the space set up for the party and, after the ritual welcome with a small refreshment provided by Bageloop, you will be able to enjoy the intervention of the Apulian writer Leonardo Piccione who, in his own way, will talk about the value of silence.
Followed by an entire smartphone-free hour to dedicate yourself to reading in the colors of the almost summer sunset in Bari. Those who participate will only have to bring with them something to read, chosen from a favorite novel, or a new reading to experiment with, a magazine, or, again, that title that you just can’t tackle alone due to lack of time and concentration. The Silent Reading Party will be the right occasion.
At the end of the reading phase, sharing, the beating heart of the Silent Reading Party, or the moment in which sociality, dialogue and listening become the protagonists. In fact, each participant can freely choose to talk about the impressions of their reading, read an important passage that they want to share with the people present, or even just listen. The Silent Reading Parties are thus confirmed as not only an unmissable opportunity to invite people to read, but also a place of rediscovered sociality between independent readers.
The event SOLD OUT within a few hours, however the possibility to sign up to the waiting list remains active (over 120 people are currently waiting).
WHO IS IT FOR: The Silent Reading Party of I Presìdi del Libro Bari, Collettivo Bandelle and Ilenia Caito is aimed at all types of readers, at those who want to regain concentration in reading, but also at those looking for a distant city space from the frenzy of daily life and commitments, with only a good book in your hands.
THE APPOINTMENT: The Silent Reading Party of I Presìdi del Libro Bari, Collettivo Bandelle and Ilenia Caito will take place on 15 June 2024 starting from 6.00 pm (approximate duration: two and a half hours) on the terrace of the De Gemmis Library, in Strada Lamberti 3, Bari.
Reservation is required on the Eventbrite portal and you can join the waiting list. Any confirmation of participation will come via e-mail. In case of rain the event will be postponed to a later date.
THE LOCATION: The De Gemmis Library, also known as the Library of the Metropolitan City of Bari, is located in the heart of the old city, in the complex of the former convent of Santa Teresa dei Maschi, built at the end of the 17th century. Inside reading rooms, exhibition spaces, an auditorium, the children’s section and a book heritage of inestimable value dedicated to the history of the Kingdom of Naples, that of the South, human and social sciences, history of fashion and customs, history of women , historical cartography and the precious archival documents of the manuscript section.
WHO WE ARE:
The Book Presidia are groups of informal readers who constitute a flexible territorial network, based on volunteering, transparent in their goals and implementation methods. The association that coordinates them was born in 2002 as an idea to promote reading “from below” thanks to the partnership of eight Apulian publishers: Adda, Besa, BA Graphis, Cacucci, Dedalo, Editori Laterza, Manni and Progedit. Currently, the Book Presidia operate throughout the national territory, from Trentino to Sicily, and communicate with institutions, schools, libraries, bookshops and all those involved in promoting reading. The Puglia Region has been a member of the Presidia since the beginning and since 2021 some Apulian municipalities and schools have also joined. The association is based in Bari, in the De Gemmis Metropolitan Library, in the heart of the “old city”.
Collettivo Bandelle is a collective of reading lovers based in Bari, born from the shared experience of reading groups led by Ilenia Caito. They have met once a month, for two years, to discuss books. In February 2024 they decide to join together and promote aggregation and reading in an absolutely unconventional way.
Ilenia Caito has been involved in promoting reading since 2010. She has hosted several radio programs for Radio Città Futura, she was a bookseller in Milan at Libraccio and in Bari at Ubik Liberrima. She was responsible for launching the digital strategy of the Laterza publishing house. She organizes and leads reading groups online and in person: she currently leads 8 of them in Bari and its province. She organizes unconventional literary themed events (literary speed dates, yoga & poetry, Silent Reading Party, Babook festival, choral presentations…). You collaborated with StorieLibere, the first podcast company that produced, among others, the series Morgana (with Michela Murgia and Chiara Tagliaferri) and Copertina (with Matteo B. Bianchi). She trained in book therapy with specialized psychotherapists and is currently training in gestalt counseling.
WITH THE PARTICIPATION OF:
Leonardo Piccione is a writer, author of narrative and sports reports for various paper and digital publications. Born in Corato in the winter of 1987, Piccione divides his time between Apulia and Iceland. He has published Book of the volcanoes of Iceland (Iperborea, 2019), It’s all Venus’s fault (Neri Pozza, 2022) and Teaching a seal to swim, Unusual journey in the Icelandic language (UTET, 2024).
