2023 Programme
Event #5
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.
https://www.festivaldellamente.it/it/live-streaming-alessandro-barbero/
Matteo Nucci was born in Rome in 1970. He has published several novels with Ponte alle Grazie, including "Sono comuni le cose degli amici" (2009, finalist for the Premio Strega), "Il toro non sbaglia mai" (2011), "È giusto obbedire alla notte" (2017, finalist for the Premio Strega), and the narrative essay "L’abisso di Eros" (2018). For Einaudi, he released a new edition of Plato's "Symposium" (2009) and the narrative essays "Le lacrime degli eroi" (2013), "Achille e Odisseo. La ferocia e l’inganno" (2020), and "Il grido di Pan" (2023). With HarperCollins, he published the novel "Sono difficili le cose belle" (2022) and "Sognava i leoni. L’eroismo fragile di Ernest Hemingway" (2024). His short stories have appeared in magazines, anthologies, and eBooks. He also collaborates with the magazines 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
