ELEVENTH EDITION
Artistic director Laura Garavaglia

FRIDAY 22^nd, SATURDAY 23^rd, SUNDAY 24^th
OCTOBER 2021

VILLA GALLIA
Passeggiata Villa Olmo, Como

UNIVERSITÀ DEGLI STUDI DELL’INSUBRIA
Via Sant'Abbondio, 12 Como

VILLA MELZI
Bellagio

"Poetry, Light and Rebirth" is the theme of the 11th edition of the International Festival of Poetry Europa in versi, organised by the charity organisation La Casa della Poesia di Como ODV. "Light and Rebirth" aims to emphasise, in spite of uncertainties and difficulties, how the hard time we have been through over the past two years is being replaced by an effort to move forward. As the expression "being born" means coming to life, the message which Europa in versi aims to convey this year is exactly this: being re-born, going back to a daily routine which before the pandemic we all took for granted. Only now do we realise that this is not the case and that in future we should do our best to protect and preserve this daily routine. The international poets who are going to read over the three days of the festival will be delighted to bless us with the light of their words, the light of a rebirth. This year we wish to dedicate the festival to the women of Afghanistan, hoping that this period of darkness may give way to some sunshine for Afghan women and that they will enjoy a new spring of freedom, one in which respect will be shown towards their rights, those rights which no country should ever trample on. We would have liked to welcome an Afghan woman as a guest among our poets: hopefully we will do so in future.

h. 10 Reserved to students.
Università degli Studi dell’Insubria
Via Sant’Abbondio 12, Como

Greetings of Rettore vicario Stefano Serra Capizzano and Professor Gianmarco Gaspari.
Meeting between poets and students.

h. 14.30 Reserved to students.
Orsoline San Carlo
Viale Varese 30, Como
Meeting between poets and students.

h. 15
Villa Gallia
ingresso da Passeggiata Villa Olmo, Como

Reading “Poetry, Light and Rebirth”

Introduced by Laura Garavaglia, artistic director of the Festival and president of La Casa della Poesia di Como and Roberto Galaverni, literary critic of Corriere della Sera.

Greetings by authorities.

The reading will be attended by Italian and foreign poets from South Korea, Vietnam, the USA, Ukraine, Hungary and Romania. The foreign guests will read in their own language and the translation will be projected on a screen. New for the Festival, the public will be able to interact with questions. Musical pieces inspired by the poets' verses performed on the piano by Maestro Tonino Scala.
In addition, a 23-year-old Afghan girl, an intellectual working in the field of human rights, who fled from Kabul, will talk about her experience.

Exhibition of works by Paola Scialpi and Daniela Gatti.

h. 19 The award ceremony for the winners of the Europa in versi e in prosa.

The event will be both in presence and streaming on the FB page and later on the You Tube channel of La Casa della Poesia di Como.

SUNDAY OCTOBER 24

h. 14.30
Bellagio - Villa Melzi

"Getting lost in speechless ecstasy. Strolling in Dante's company through the Villa Melzi gardens" with Pietro Berra, journalist, poeta and president of association Sentiero dei Sogni. Itinerant readings of the poets participating in Europa in Versi.
Visit to the Napoleonic Museum

On our website and social media it will be possible to watch the videos made by students of liceo classico and scientifico A. Volta inspired by verses of the poets and  a video in which the poet Dante Maffia  reads his poems dedicated to Como and the lake.

As always, Europa in versi will publish the Festival anthology published by I Quaderni del Bardo and edited by Andrea Tavernati, poet, writer and vice president of La Casa della Poesia di Como OdV.