The 24th, 25th, and 26th of September 2024 will see the second edition of Le notti del Pratello, the evening literary festival that takes place in the Pratello district of Bologna in the evening. This year, many notable names will participate in the events over these three days at the beginning of autumn.
Le notti del Pratello takes place in an area with high nighttime attendance, historically rich in taverns, bars, restaurants, fast food, shops, and lively venues every evening filled with university students and others.
Conceived by the Otago Literary Agency, a 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 times when people go out at night. 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, nightclubs and artisan shops, vintage stores, and food shops coexist; 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 La notte del Pratello, from which the festival takes its name:
“A 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. Pressed 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.”
The event, organized in collaboration with several independent bookstores in Bologna, has seen numerous local businesses participate: Il Punto (via San Rocco, 1/g), 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).
The event exists thanks to the bookstores that supported the initiative: Igor Libreria, La confraternita dell’uva – Independent Bookstore, Lino’s Edicola-Libreria, Trame Libreria Bookshop.
Here is the program for the second edition of the festival:
Tuesday, September 24
* 8 PM – “Rebellion or surrender?”: Grazia Verasani presents her novel Hotel Madridda (Marsilio), with the author joined by Marcello Fois @ L’Altro Spazio da Osvaldo (via del Pratello, 96a), in collaboration with the Trame bookstore.
* 9 PM – “The queer fantastic”: Antonia Caruso, Angelica De Palo, and June Scialpi present the anthology Stasera faremo cadere il cielo(Zona42), moderated by Giorgio Raffaelli @ Vanilia & Comics (via del Pratello, 100), in collaboration with Igor Libreria.
Wednesday, September 25
* 8:30 PM – “Bologna of Pentothal”: Gianluca Morozzi presents his book A Bologna con Andrea Pazienza (Perrone), with the author joined by Silvia Antenucci @ Porta Pratello (via Pietralata, 58), in collaboration with the La confraternita dell’uva bookstore.
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