2013 Program
EVENT #7
Alessandro Barbero
Incredible Middle Ages: the Terror of the Year 1000
Fears of the year 1000 fascinated the Romantics. In the 19th century, the great French historian Michelet—and the Italian poet Carducci—wrote stunning accounts of the anguish of crowds awaiting the end of the world and their tears of relief when they saw that life went on after all. When historians realized that Europe experienced its decisive turning point just around that time, leaving behind the stagnation of the Dark Ages to give rise of the extraordinary civilization of the Early Middle Ages, it seemed natural to connect that recovery to the beneficial psychological shock at the failed prediction. But did people in the year 999 really know what year they lived in? Had the man who signed a 25-year lease on a house in 999 never heard about the end of the world?
Alessandro Barberois a historian and a writer and a tenured professor of Medieval History at Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale e Vercelli. He writes for La Stampa and Tuttolibri. He is a contributor on the television program Superquark and the shows Il tempo e la storia and a.C.d.C., broadcast by Rai Storia. His publications include: Benedette guerre. Crociate e jihad («i Libri del Festival della Mente», 2009), Lepanto. La battaglia dei tre imperi («i Libri del Festival della Mente», 2010), Donne, madonne, mercanti e cavalieri. Sei storie medievali («i Libri del Festival della Mente», 2013), published by Laterza; Gli occhi di Venezia (Mondadori, 2011); Il divano di Istanbul (Sellerio, 2011); Dietro le quinte della Storia. La vita quotidiana attraverso il tempo, written with P. Angela (Rizzoli, 2012); Le Ateniesi (Mondadori, 2015); Costantino il vincitore (Salerno Editrice, 2016); Le parole del papa (2016) and Caporetto (2017), published by Laterza. Il divano di Istanbul (2011), Alabama (2021) and Poeta al comando (2022), published by Sellerio.
EVENT #18
Stefano Bartezzaghi, Massimo Recalcati
To inherit or to be creative? Art in the time of disoriented generations
