We arrive at the third edition of Le Notti of Pratello, the evening literary festival that enlivens the Pratello district in Bologna in the evening. Born in 2023 from an idea by Marco Nardini of the literary agency Otago, the event returns on September 23, 24, and 25, 2025, starting at 8 PM, in various venues in the area. Never before have so many writers – and not only – chosen to present their new editorial works in this context.
The program opens on Tuesday, September 23, with the Venetian writer Maria Grazia Gagliardi, who has been organizing the “Cinema Without Rights” review dedicated to Palestinian cinema for years, presenting a novel capable of intertwining a love story with the pain and violence of the days of the Operation Cast Lead conducted by Israel on the Gaza Strip. It closes on Thursday, September 25, with a musical evening featuring John in the Dark, accompanied by musicians Jacopo and Simone Del Deo and the voice of Anastasia Burn: a singer-songwriter based in Bologna, he collaborated on the birth of the musical project ericthegoodsailor, linked to the novel by Vito di Battista Dove cadono le comete. The pieces for the reading by Eva Cela are taken from this novel: born in Albania and raised in Italy, a former blue gymnast who won a bronze medal at the World Championships, after studying at the Experimental Center of Cinematography and the Silvio d’Amico Academy of Dramatic Art, she has acted under the direction of directors such as Marco Bellocchio, Michele Riondino, and Matteo Rovere.
Among the big names in the Italian literary scene are Marcello Fois, who is at home in the neighborhood, with his new novel just released in bookstores; Federica Iacobelli, author of numerous children’s books who presents herself here for the first time with a work intended for adults; Peppe Millanta, an Abruzzese storyteller who has won several literary awards with his novels; the Roman essayist Federica Graziani, who takes the reader on a curious journey to Amsterdam tracing the footprints that Van Gogh did not leave. There is also room for the debut author Fabio Ferrari, a former student of Bottega Finzioni, with a mystery set in an imaginary village in Romagna.
There are also musical incursions in the essay field: Alberto Piccinini and Giovanni Robertini will tell the phenomenon of our times, trap. A special moment will be dedicated to Stefano Benni, the great Bolognese writer who recently passed away, who will be honored with an expressive reading performance by the collective Voci in Capitolo.
The festival takes place in an area with high nighttime attendance, historically rich in taverns, bars, restaurants, shops, and venues that welcome Bolognese locals and university students from outside, as well as tourists, every evening. It is no coincidence that the literary agency Otago, founded right in Pratello in 2010, chose this context to combine culture with sociality, with a “gentle revolution” that brings books among people during the liveliest hours of the district.
Pratello is indeed a unique place in Bologna and Italy: a network of streets where nightclubs, artisan shops, vintage and grocery stores, pubs, and taverns have coexisted for decades. A crossroads of cultures, origins, and different traditions, it is an area that lights up after sunset in an atmosphere of tolerance and inclusion, almost like a village within the city. This is how Emidio Clementi describes it, both literally and metaphorically, in the opening of his novel Le Notti del Pratello, from which the review 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».
Numerous local businesses have joined the event: Arsura (via della Grada, 2), Il Punto (via San Rocco, 1/g), Porta Pratello (via Pietralata, 58), QuattroQuarti Social Art Pub (via del Pratello, 96e), Tarcaban Cafè (via del Pratello, 96/f-g), The Irish Times Pub (via Paradiso, 1/d), Vanilia & Comics (via del Pratello, 100).
The event exists thanks to the bookstores that have supported the initiative: The Brotherhood of the Grape – Independent Bookstore, Sette Volpi Bookstore, Ubik Irnerio Bookstore, Lino’s Edicola Libreria, Trame Libreria Bookshop.
Here is the program for the third edition of the review:
Tuesday, September 23
* 8 PM – «Finding oneself among the ruins»: Maria Grazia Gagliardi presents her novel The Gaza Syndrome (Astarte), with the author joined by Alessandra Arini and Mariangela Cofone @ Tarcaban Cafè (via del Pratello, 96/f-g), in collaboration with Lino’s Edicola Libreria.
* 9 PM – «The innocent discovery of differences»: Federica Iacobelli presents her novel The Land of the Mad (Bompiani), with the author joined by Marinella Manicardi @ Il Punto (via San Rocco, 1/g), in collaboration with Trame Libreria Bookshop.
* 10 PM – «The singer of suspended worlds»: Peppe Millanta takes us to discover his novels, published by Rizzoli, Neo, and Ediciclo, in dialogue with Francesco Coscioni, introduced by Vito di Battista @ The Irish Times Pub (via Paradiso, 1/d), in collaboration with Trame Libreria Bookshop.
Wednesday, September 24
* 7:15 PM – «Our Musical Years»: Alberto Piccinini and Giovanni Robertini present their book Maxi-brawl. The Diaries of Trap (nottetempo), with the authors joined by Alessandro Ceccarelli and Simone Padovan @ Porta Pratello (via Pietralata, 58), in collaboration with The Brotherhood of the Grape – Independent Bookstore.
* 9:15 PM – «Dying to Understand Life»: Marcello Fois presents his novel The Immense Distraction (Einaudi), with the author joined by Massimo Marino @ Porta Pratello (via Pietralata, 58), in collaboration with the Ubik Irnerio bookstore.
* 10:15 PM – «An Inheritance to Keep Hidden»: Fabio Ferrari presents his novel Underground (8tto edizioni), with the author joined by Gianluca Morozzi @ Vanilia & Comics (via del Pratello, 100), in collaboration with the Sette Volpi bookstore.
Thursday, September 25
* 8 PM – «What Remains of Mokum Alef»: Federica Graziani presents her book In Amsterdam with Van Gogh. An Authentic Fake (Perrone editore), with the author joined by Matteo Marchesini @ Arsura (via della Grada, 2), in collaboration with The Brotherhood of the Grape – Independent Bookstore.
* 9 PM – «The Blues of the Bypass»: a narrative journey in memory of Stefano Benni curated by the collective Voci in Capitolo @ QuattroQuarti (via del Pratello, 96e), in collaboration with the Ubik Irnerio bookstore.
* 10 PM – «Souls in Balance between Dishonor and Resistance»: Eva Cela reads excerpts from the novel Where Comets Fall (Feltrinelli) by Vito di Battista, @ QuattroQuarti (via del Pratello, 96e), in collaboration with the Ubik Irnerio bookstore.
* 10:30 PM – «Doubts, Silences, and Truths That Cannot Be Said»: closing musical evening with John in the Dark, presentation of the collective musical project ericthegoodsailor (soundtrack of the novel by Vito di Battista Where Comets Fall) followed by a live set of unreleased tracks and covers @ QuattroQuarti (via del Pratello, 96e).
