The 18th, 19th, and 20th of September 2023 are the dates of The Nights of Pratello, the evening literary festival that takes place in the Pratello district of Bologna in the evening. Many names will participate in the meetings over the three days, focusing on the writings of Simone Azzu, Majid Bita, Anna Curcio, Carlo Lucarelli, Alberto Masala, Davide Piacenza, Giampiero Rigosi and the Goncourt prize Lydie Salvayre.
The Nights of Pratello takes place in an area of high nighttime attendance, historically rich in taverns, bars, restaurants, fast food, shops, and lively venues every evening filled with university students and others.
From an idea of Otago Literary Agency, the literary agency based in Bologna that was founded in 2010 in Pratello, this “evening” festival aims to bring books, and thus literary events, into the venues and at the times when people go out in the evening. Integrating culture into social life is a gentle revolution, allowing those who have decided to spend a few hours out of the house, for leisure or relaxation, to enjoy a culturally stimulating and pleasant experience.
Pratello is a unique reality in Bologna and Italy, where within a few hundred meters there have been nightclubs and artisan shops, vintage and grocery stores, pubs and taverns for decades; a district that has always been dedicated to community and life after sunset. A crossroads of cultures, origins, traditions, and different religions that coexist in tolerance and inclusivity, almost like a village within the city, Pratello is well described, both literally and metaphorically, by Emidio Clementi in the prologue of his novel The Night of Pratello, from which the festival takes its name:
«Street of slaves and whores. Of protectors and chicken thieves. Of rat eaters. Also of cats, obviously. Dark origins. Suburbia. Suburbia even later, once incorporated into the city. Leaning against the walls. Terrified by changes. Almost countryside and almost city. Refuge for gamblers, experts in French scams, priests, horny men, alcoholics, rat catchers, spies, transvestites. Perpetual hunger. Kingdom of precarity. Indolence. Over the centuries».
At the event, organized in collaboration with several independent bookstores in Bologna, numerous local businesses have joined: Blue Hush (via San Rocco, 5d), Circolo della Pace (via del Pratello, 53), L’Altro Spazio da Osvaldo (via del Pratello, 96a), Porta Pratello (via Pietralata, 58), QuattroQuarti Social Art Pub (via del Pratello, 96e), Vanilia & Comics (via del Pratello, 100).
Here is the program for the first edition of the festival:
Monday, September 18
8 PM – “Autobiography in Exile”: Majid Bita presents the graphic novel Born in Iran (Canicola), with the author Andrea Bruno, Marco Ficarra, and Alberto Sebastiani @ Blue Hush, in collaboration with the bookstore La Confraternita dell’uva.
9:30 PM – “Bologna, Outside at Night”: the Bolognese night in the novels of Giampiero Rigosi, with the author Silvia Santachiara and Laura Bessega from About Bologna @ L’Altro Spazio da Osvaldo, in collaboration with Igor Libreria.
Tuesday, September 19
8 PM – “The Art of Conversation”: Lydie Salvayre presents the novel The Conference (Prehistorica), with the author Camilla Marchisotti and Jessy Simonini @ Porta Pratello, in collaboration with Lo Spazio Letterario, Alliance Française Bologna, and the bookstore La Confraternita dell’uva.
9:30 PM – “The Dark Side of Fairy Tales”: Carlo Lucarelli presents In the Company of the Wolf. The New Tales (Tiwi/Sky Arte), with the author Marcello Fois, readings by Beatrice Clementi and Claudia Palermo @ Porta Pratello, in collaboration with Lo Spazio Letterario and the bookstore Trame.
Wednesday, September 20
8 PM – “Feminist Struggle from Marxism to Queer”: Anna Curcio presents the essay Introduction to Feminisms (DeriveApprodi), with the curator Angelica De Palo @ Circolo della Pace.
9 PM – “The Cultural Battle of Political Correctness”: Davide Piacenza presents the essay The Correction of the World (Einaudi Stile Libero), with the author Sofia Torre and Enrico Pitzianti @ Vanilia & Comics, in collaboration with the bookstore Trame.
10 PM – “A Fucking Intellectual Reading”: closing night with Alberto Masala and Simone Azzu, music by Martino Corrias @ QuattroQuarti Social Art Pub.
