The 17th edition of the literary festival 'Il Libro Possibile' will be held from July 3 to 6, 2019 in Polignano a Mare, Bari (Italy). Pirelli has sponsored the festival since 2018. Various cultural projects across the province of Bari were brought together to create the IL LIBRO POSSIBILE Festival in 2002 with the goal of taking culture "to the streets" and stimulating debates on a wide variety of topics in meetings with today's illustrious intellectuals. The event moved to Polignano in 2005 and today six squares in the ancient town centre, from the original three, are involved: Piazza Aldo Moro, Piazza San Benedetto, Piazza dell'Orologio, Via dei Mulini, Balconata Santa Candida, Vico Porto Raguseo.
Now in its 18th edition, 'Il Libro Possibile' has come of age and has constantly grown since 2002 involving over 370 personalities, counting protagonists and interviewers. It is expected to attract an audience, with large presence of young people, of over 90 thousand across the four evenings of the event.
Rather than a cultural knowledge festival, the event is a series of meetings offering food for thought, dialogue and discussion to an audience also not of regular readers. "The theme is broad, capable of containing a declaration of multiple points of view, transversal and interdisciplinary", explained artistic director, Rosella Santoro. "In other words, the theme must be able to offer a variety of ideas to the public and stimulate thought".
The starting point this year was the 50th anniversary of Neil Armstrong's "one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind" when he placed his foot on the Moon on July 20, 1969, hence the title 'Il passo dell'umanità' (The leap of mankind).
"We started with the idea of celebrating the Moon landing. The idea of a step/leap is examined from many points of view to offer thoughts on where humankind is today and on the next steps that each of us wants and must undertake. In these times of great uncertainty, we must ponder our sense of humanity. The technological, scientific and biotechnological progress that led to the Moon landing and that continues today can be interpreted from a humanistic perspective that the festival wants to help recover," explained Rosella Santoro.
For the second year, Pirelli will be main sponsor of the festival and, on occasion of the 18th edition, will support the event and participate actively. On July 6, Marco Tronchetti Provera will address the leap of mankind theme and Director of Fondazione Pirelli Antonio Calabrò will present his take on Industrial Humanism. An anthology of thoughts, words, images and innovations will soon to be published by Mondadori and edited by the Pirelli Foundation.
This will be the main theme of the summer evenings of the festival in Polignano, with a program that already today promises to be packed with high-value presences. The event will be kicked off with a preview of excellence on June 23 in Polignano with 2019 Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Powers and will end on July 6 with writer Richard Mason, who will present his current international TV series project on Michelangelo.
