Festival della Mente » Protagonists

Maura Sandri

Elena — Sun, 31 Aug 2025 07:23:48 +0000

Maura Sandri is a technologist at INAF, the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics, the leading public research body in Italy for astronomy and astrophysics. In addition to design and research, she works in education and science outreach. She is part of the editorial team at Media Inaf and serves as editor-in-chief of the magazine Universi.

Antonella Capetti

Festival della Mente — Sat, 30 Aug 2025 09:57:55 +0000

Antonella Capetti designs editorial and educational projects and teaches in primary schools. Her passion for reading and picture books has shaped her career, which she approaches with a practical, hands-on methodology and a commitment to sharing her work. She is the author of several essays, including A scuola con gli albi. Insegnare con la bellezza delle parole e delle immagini (Topipittori, 2018), In classe con gli albi illustrati (co-authored with Sandra Minciotti, Sanoma, 2024), and Se vivi sulla terra (Il Castoro, 2025).

Irene Ferrarese

Elena — Sat, 30 Aug 2025 07:40:26 +0000

Irene Ferrarese is an art educator and head of the Artebambini branch in Lucca. Artebambini is a training organization recognized by the Italian Ministry of Education and a publishing house specializing in illustrated books for children, teenagers, and adults. It embraces the arts as an active pretext for discovering cultures, learning, storytelling, invention, and personal growth.

Luca Tebaldi

Elena — Sat, 30 Aug 2025 07:39:19 +0000

Luca Tebaldi is a writer and creator of interactive games for children and adults. An educator and basketball coach, he has run an escape room in Ostia since 2015. A passionate enthusiast of crime and mystery fiction, he is the author of the Mystery Game series with Edizioni EL, which blends storytelling with investigative play, and the Detective Game series, including Missione: Pericolo and Giovo di squadra. He has also penned the gamebooks Librogame: Basket tutti a canestro! and Un gol da sogno.

Marianna Coppo

Elena — Sat, 30 Aug 2025 07:35:24 +0000

Marianna Coppo was born and lives in Rome, where she writes and illustrates picture books with the “assistance” of her two cats. Her works include Petra (Lapis, 2016), translated into 14 languages and named a Kirkus Best Picture Book in 2018; Il mio peggior giorno preferito (Nord-Sud Edizioni, 2023); Un Coso (Uppa Edizioni, 2023); Fish and Crab (Chronicle Books, 2023), selected as an Indigo Best Children’s Book 2023; and Il libro che ti legge nella mente (Quinto Quarto Edizioni, 2024).

Sergio Olivotti

Elena — Sat, 30 Aug 2025 07:17:53 +0000

Sergio Olivotti is an illustrator, author, and graphic designer. His major works include Si fa presto a dire elefante (Rizzoli, 2021); Metamorfosi (Sabìr, 2022); Ma che storia è? (Clichy, 2023); Il genio della musica (Clichy, 2024); the essay Creativologia (Sabìr, 2024); and Se fossi Ugo (written and illustrated with Giulietta Pastorino, Corraini, 2024), winner of the 2025 Andersen Prize.

Elisa Di Toro

Elena — Fri, 29 Aug 2025 10:18:43 +0000

Elisa Di Toro, co-founder of Densa, is an educator and project designer working at the intersection of education and social innovation. She supports teachers, educators, and young people in developing digital skills and media literacy through a plural, transmedia approach. Densa, the social cooperative she co-founded, creates and delivers innovative educational experiences. Since 2016, it has hosted Kidsbit in Perugia – a festival for children and families that celebrates digital creativity.

Paolo Pecere

Festival della Mente — Thu, 21 Aug 2025 08:03:31 +0000

Paolo Pecere is Associate Professor of History of Philosophy at Roma Tre University. His books include La vita lontana (Liberaria, 2018), Risorgere (Chiarelettere, 2019), and the textbook Filosofia. La ricerca della conoscenza (with R. Chiaradonna, Mondadori Education, 2018). He is also the author of Il dio che danza. Viaggi, trance e trasformazioni (Nottetempo, 2021). His most recent work is Il senso della natura. Sette sentieri per la Terra (Sellerio, 2024).

Marina Notaro

Martina Ricciardi — Thu, 21 Aug 2025 07:59:09 +0000

Marina Notaro is a versatile saxophonist acclaimed in both classical and contemporary repertoire, as a soloist, chamber musician, and teacher. She collaborates with leading orchestras such as the Teatro alla Scala Orchestra, the Filarmonica della Scala, and the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Orchestra. As a soloist, she has performed A. Glazunov’s Concerto, H. Villa-Lobos’s Fantasia, and J. Ibert’s Concertino da Camera.

Marina Rocco

Martina Ricciardi — Thu, 21 Aug 2025 07:58:09 +0000

Marina Rocco, actress, has long collaborated with Filippo Timi, appearing in productions such as Hamlet², Don Giovanni, and The Little Mermaid. Under the direction of Andrée Ruth Shammah, she has starred in classics including Carlo Goldoni’s The Lovers, Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, and Giovanni Testori’s La Maria Brasca. She has worked with Woody Allen in To Rome with Love, Marco Tullio Giordana in Wild Blood, and Paolo Virzì in Magical Nights.