2023 Programme
Event #5
Friday 1 September, 11.00 pm
piazza Matteotti1 - euro 4,50
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Matteo Nucci
A philosopher's wonder: Plato
‘Typical of the philosopher is this state of mind: wonder. Philosophy has no other origin than this’. Plato's words are definitive. They are so powerful that Aristotle adheres to them in a famous passage of the Metaphysics. But how does wonder drive human beings to philosophical research? The best answer to this question is included in one of the Athenian philosopher's most shocking works: the Republic. Following the path Plato has conceived to build a just city, the reader is trapped in several surprises with no way out. From the power to be handed over to philosophers – be they men or women – to a community of goods that anticipates a form of communism. Yet, the crucial question is what turns out to be truly wonderful and not surprising at all: finding happiness.
Matteo Nucci was born in Rome in 1970. With Ponte alle Grazie Publishers he published the novels Sono comuni le cose degli amici (2009, shortlisted at Strega Award), Il toro non sbaglia mai (2011), È giusto obbedire alla notte (2017, shortlisted at Strega Award) and the narrative-essay L’abisso di Eros (2018). He curated the new edition of Plato’s Symposium (Einaudi, 2009) and the narrative-essays Le lacrime degli eroi (Einaudi, 2013), Achille e Odisseo. La ferocia e l’inganno (Einaudi, 2020), Il grido di Pan (Einaudi, 2023). With HarperCollins he published the novel Sono difficili le cose belle (2022). His short stories were published in magazines, anthologies and eBooks. He collaborates with Venerdì di Repubblica, Specchio by La Stampa and l’Espresso.
Event #15
Martina Mazzotta
Wunderkammer: art, science, wonder. From the Renaissance until the present day
Event #20Approfonditamente
Marianna Aprile, Maurizio Careddu, Enrico Casale, Cristiana Farina, Gianluca Guida
Wonder inside: stories of art and beauty from Italian prisons
