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the years we have succeeded, involving the entire community, regardless of any division or political background. And the result is now there for all to see. Is the direct encounter between the public and authors the festival’s trump card? “We broke down every barrier between the protagonists and the public. The time was ripe for this. It is now a consolidated practice. Certainly, twenty years ago this was not the case. But there is no doubt –adds Villalta– that this was the right path to take. Bringing the greats of literature, the protagonists of our time, into direct contact with their audience of readers. And also the public, in Pordenone, ends up feeling like a protagonist”.
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ENGLISH TEXT
Pordenonelegge è la festa della città: non c’è teatro, spazio, piazza, negozio, ristorante che non vesta i colori e l’atmosfera di questa festa della letteratura. — Pordenonelegge is the city’s festival: there is no theatre, no space, no square, no shop, no restaurant that does not wear the colours and atmosphere of this literary festival.
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here is a place in Friuli Venezia Giulia where the undisputed protagonist is the book and its festival, which for over 20 years has made this town the Italian literary capital. The place is the city of Pordenone which, for a week, is dressed in the yellow and black colours of Pordenonelegge; “ The authors’ festival with the book”, the unique claim of the festival, is told to IES by Gianmario Villalta, the historic curator of the festival together with the team of Alberto Garlini and Valentina Gasparet. “The secret of our success? Simple: a city that feels and lives the five days of the festival as something that belongs to it, as a whole. Pordenonelegge is the city’s festival, which lives the event, dresses it up, accompanies it, makes it its own. There is no theatre, no space, no square, no shop, no restaurant that does not wear the colours and atmosphere of this festival. And I can assure you that it has not been easy to get this far, but over
Then the organisational machine grew, especially after the birth of the Fondazione Pordenonelegge. “There is no doubt that that was the qualitative leap. The three friends who had started the event became a team. The involvement of the Chamber of Commerce and then the creation of the Foundation, the commitment of the institutions that believed in the project, and the creation of a team masterfully directed by Michela Zin did the rest...” Will 2021 be the year of a return to the splendour of the past, after the difficult transition of the Covid period? “We hope so, even if we were there in 2020 anyway, with streaming and distancing. I hope and believe that from 15 to 19 September next year the image of the Pordenone festival will be like those of the previous record editions”. And then there is, in the book festival with the authors, a festival within the festival, dedicated to poetry... “Poetry has its own more complex audience, if I may use this term, which however needs to relate. And there is an important slice of the alternative market to the book market. The attention we pay to poetry is giving us considerable feedback and satisfaction”. Villalta, what future do you see for the paper book in an increasingly digital world? “I have no doubt that the book as an object, to be leafed through, smelled and treasured, will last a long time. Come to Pordenone in September. You will see for yourself...”
