“What is lost either by our fault, or by the fault of time or by Fortune: what is lost here, there is gathered again.” The 15th edition of Bookcity Milano, whose program for the first time is curated by the writer Marco Balzano and scheduled from November 23 to 29, 2026, is marked by Ludovico Ariosto.
The Milanese festival dedicated to books and reading, promoted by the Culture Department of the City of Milan and by the Bookcity Milano Foundation (comprising the Corriere della Sera Foundation, the Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Foundation, the Umberto and Elisabetta Mauri Foundation, the Arnoldo and Alberto Mondadori Foundation, and the Italian Publishers Association), will indeed center on the thematic focus “The Sense on the Moon.” In the Orlando Furioso “the hero’s sense is kept in a glass vial: fragility and passions, but above all irrationality and the senselessness of ambitions threaten the ability to distinguish the best and to choose the good.”
“Telling the Disorientation in Which We Live”
“The Sense on the Moon,” as explained in the presentation, “indicates the disorientation in which, in times of war and violent aims, we live our daily lives and imagine the future.” And thus, “to reflect on Orlando’s madness means to meditate on the need for rationality, on the necessity of peace, and on the care of our critical and intellectual sense which can never be entirely entrusted to technology. The books that will animate the discussions of BookCity Milano 2026 will be our journey to the Moon to recover the vial with which to regain Earth.”
From Ariosto to BookCity, the dispersed festival has planned this year over 1350 events and 2480 participants, with 66 bookstores and 68 libraries involved (including those in housing blocks), and more than 440 venues across Milan’s different neighborhoods and in nearby cities (including Pavia).
BookCity Milano this year “wants to take a further step to be even more a moment of community around the book.” One of the objectives of this edition is in fact “the greater involvement of authors and publishing houses in shared encounters,” so the program will not be divided by genres or disciplines, but by content strands, capable of creating unexpected bibliographies; a transversal approach that is also reflected in the choice of guests: BookCity increasingly opens to voices not directly from the literary world (from theater to music, from sport to the web) with the aim of giving voice to the many reading experiences even from non-writers.
Which books would you take to the Moon?
Around the classic presentations and author interviews, BookCity introduces new rubrics that will fuel the plurality of voices around a common theme: Which books would you take to the Moon?, a series of dialogues in which two literary figures recount some of their favorite books, produced with the contribution of the Lombardy Region; Lessons for recovering the sense, in which four authors address fundamental themes for reading the present (relationships, technology, language and schooling); What they don’t teach at school, four events using books as a starting point to explore topics often neglected in the school curriculum such as sexuoso-educational topics and civic education; Underground Classics, in which some of the most important voices of contemporary Italian literature will place a great classical work they love in dialogue with a forgotten book that they own by theme, vision, or inner need.
On the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, which takes place on November 25, BookCity Milano will also propose a slate focused on the theme.
There is room for the very young with BookCity Milano 0-6, the new project dedicated to early childhood, created with the contribution of Fondazione Cariplo within the Anita – Early Childhood First challenge, to bring books and reading closer to children from the earliest years of life.
A Special Focus Dedicated to Via Padova
And more: this year BookCity Milano will dedicate a special focus to a district, Via Padova, working with the many realities that bring books and reading to its streets every day. From this collaboration arises BookCity Milano Via Padova.
And to further strengthen its synergy with the network of independent bookstores in the city, in collaboration with LIM – Association of Independent Bookshops of Milan, Everything you Always Wanted to Ask an Author, four bookstore encounters with four authors to chat about their books, their characters, their style, what they love but also what they do not love: Thursday, November 26 at 6:30 PM at Lato D | Libreria del Desiderio with Roberta Recchia; Friday, November 27 at 7 PM at Scamamù Libri giochi e spazio with Lorenza Gentile; Saturday, November 28 at 6:30 PM at the bookstore In cerca di guai, with Gianrico Carofiglio; and Sunday, November 29 at 4 PM at Mamì Libri&Birra with Laura Imai Messina.
New BookCity Venues
Among the innovations of the 2026 edition is also the presence of new venues such as Ambrosius – The Treasure of the Basilica, the museum located in the Capitolium area of the Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio, the Historical Archive of Ca’ Granda Foundation IRCCS, housed within the ancient complex of the Ospedale Maggiore, which preserves old administrative documents, maps and historic registers, the Casa degli Artisti, an international artist residency center that promotes research, training and artistic production, Villa Necchi Campiglio, one of the most representative residences of 1930s Milan donated to the FAI, the Civil Temple of San Sebastiano, a place of worship in Milan located on the central Via Torino.
Colson Whitehead Opens the Event
The 15th edition of BookCity Milano will open with one of the greatest names in contemporary fiction: Colson Whitehead will be the guest at the opening event, which will take place Monday, November 23 at 8:00 PM at Teatro Dal Verme. The encounter will inaugurate the week of the festival with a look at the United States, between literature and current events: the author will engage in dialogue with Francesco Costa, journalist and director of Il Post. The event will be moderated by Giovanna Zucconi. For the occasion, Whitehead will receive the City Seal from Milan’s mayor Giuseppe Sala. During the evening, the curator of BookCity Milano 2026, Balzano, will give a talk dedicated to the edition’s theme, The Sense on the Moon.
“The Sense on the Moon – Seven Days of Books, Reasons and Follies”
The Sense on the Moon – Seven Days of Books, Reasons and Follies, as mentioned, is the year’s thematic focus, inspired by one of the most famous episodes of world literature: the Orlando Furioso by Ludovico Ariosto, in which Astolfo travels to the Moon to recover the wits of the maddened paladin, kept in a glass vial. “A powerful image and at the same time fragile, it speaks to us across more than five centuries about how necessary and urgent it is today to try to recover the thread of lucidity.”
Dedicated to the year’s theme are, in addition to the rubrics Which books would you take to the Moon?, realized with the contribution of Regione Lombardia, and Lessons for recovering one’s wits, several events that interpret the theme across the realm of literature (I’ll Be Brief – How to Write a Short Story, an open lecture by Ermanno Cavazzoni, November 26 at 11 at Castello Sforzesco – Sala Viscontea); within spirituality (the four appointments of the cycle Craftsmen of Ideas at the San Fedele Cultural Foundation); within technology (The Sense of Machines: Emotions and Consciousness in Robots with Antonio Chella and Simone Arcagni on November 27, 6:30 PM at Libreria Claudiana) and within science (The Sense of the Moon, between Contemplation and Exploration, a dialogue between Samantha Cristoforetti and Stefano Sandrelli, on November 25 at 8 PM at the National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo da Vinci); within history (Recovering the Sense: Reading Wars to Build Peace with Francesco Samorè, Michele Corcio, Raffaele Crocco and Sara Gorelli, on November 29 at 12:30, Casa della Memoria); within society (The Sense of Women, between Art and Philosophy with Laura Sanò and Giacinto Di Pietrantonio, on November 28 at 6 PM at the ADI Design Museum).
Inspired by the year’s theme is also the BookCity Contest – The Sense on the Moon within BookCity for Schools, whose prize-giving will take place on November 25 at the National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo da Vinci.
The winner of the prestigious 2024 Booker Prize with the novel Orbital Samantha Harvey, for the first time in Italy, together with the writer and physicist Paolo Giordano, will finally face off at the closing event of BookCity Milano, From Deep Space to the Heart of the Earth, on November 29 at 8 PM in the Sala Grande of Theater Franco Parenti, on the deep connection between science and literature, exploring the sense of wonder and the infinite beauty of our planet. “A dialogue that traverses the theme of the fifteenth edition of the festival, offering a reflection on the Earth and on our search for meaning in the universe.”
Rubrics and Special Projects of BookCity
Which books would you take to the Moon? is a cycle of dialogues in which two figures from Italian culture and writing tell some of their favorite books, an opportunity to share with the audience the readings that inspire and guide, and to discover classics that were previously unknown, or to immerse again in books we have loved. A project with the contribution of Regione Lombardia that involves the city’s secondary schools but is open to the public as well. From Monday, November 23 to Friday, November 27, always at 11:30, will feature dialogues at the Brera International Center Matteo Caccia and Giorgio Fontana, Tiemen Hiestra and Giacomo Papi, Ilaria Gaspari and Matteo Nucci, Arianna Porcelli Safonov and Elena Varvello, Marco Malvaldi and Roberta Recchia. In Cremona, on November 23 at 10 and 11:30 at Palazzo Affaitati, Cristina Battocletti and Marco Belpoliti; in Pavia, on November 27 at 9 PM at Collegio Ghislieri, Silvia Avallone and Filippo Nigro.
Lessons for recovering the sense
In Lessons for recovering the sense four authors address fundamental themes for regaining one’s wits: relationships, technology, language, and schooling; Marina Garcés with La passione degli estranei – Filosofia dell’amicizia (November 28 at 6 PM – Feltrinelli Foundation in Sala Lettura), Barbara Mazzolai with L’arte gentile della distruzione – Come non perdere il senno nella scienza e nella tecnologia (November 28 at 6 PM at the National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci), Alessandro Bergonzoni with Non ardo dal desiderio di diventare uomo finché posso essere anche donna bambino animale o cosa (November 28 at 11 AM at the Civil Temple of San Sebastiano), Christian Raimo with Racconti di scuola (November 29 at 3:30 PM at the Poldi Pezzoli Museum).
What They Don’t Teach at School
What They Don’t Teach at School is a four-part series at Castello Sforzesco – Sala Weil Weiss, realized with the contribution of Fondazione di Comunità Milano, which uses books as a starting point to explore topics that in the school path are often fragmented, superficially treated, or confined to separate domains: sexuoso-educational education (with Nicoletta Verna on Thursday, November 26 at 11:30, reserved for schools, and with Rosella Postorino Friday, November 27 at 6:30 PM, open to the public) and civic education (with Federica Manzon Thursday, November 26 at 6:30 PM, open to the public, and with Nicola Lagioia and Marco Balzano Friday, November 27 at 11 AM, reserved for schools).
Clandestine Classics
Clandestine Classics is born from the belief that the canon is not a ranking of absolute value, but often the result of circumstantial factors. The idea is to invite major voices of contemporary Italian literature to “adopt” a great beloved masterpiece and present it to the public in dialogue with a forgotten book that belongs to them in theme, vision, or inner need. From Ambrosius, in the Oratorio della Passione, on November 24, 26 and 27 at 6:30 PM, will alternate Francesca Giannone, Viola Ardone and Stefania Auci; within the rediscovery of great classics of literature, there is also a collaboration between BookCity Milano and the Center for Books and Reading of the Ministry of Culture to enhance two great Italian twentieth-century authors: Antonio Pennacchi (with Giuseppe Culicchia and Giuseppe Iannaccone, on November 24 at 6:30 PM at the Mondadori Foundation – Laboratory) and Giuseppe Berto (with Emanuele Trevi and Stenio Solinas, on November 25 at 6:30 PM at Ambrosius – Oratorio della Passione).
International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
Wednesday, November 25 marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, officially established by the United Nations General Assembly in December 1999, and BookCity has decided to dedicate a slate of specific events to this theme, highlighting gender-based violence that manifests in multiple forms, from physical and psychological to economic and verbal.
At 6:30 PM in the Multifunctional Hall (Feltrinelli Foundation) the event Era so much a good boy with Paola di Nicola Travaglini, one of Italy’s leading jurists on femicide and gender equality, Cinzia Spanò, Amleta and Caterina Croce, on how cultural stereotypes render male violence invisible; also at 6:30 PM, at the Café Rouge of Teatro Franco Parenti, Furious. The Anger of Women in Ancient Myth with Silvia Romani and Federica Fracassi, a discussion on archetypes of female anger through the centuries in dialogue with their incarnations, with their ghosts; again at 6:30 PM at the Milano Municipal Bar Association, Malamore with Daniela Missaglia and Manuela Porta, exploring dynamics of control, submission, and manipulation in toxic relationships; again at 6:30 PM, at Libreria Claudiana, Not Madness: All Men Can Do Something Against Gender Violence with Luca Milani, Cristina Pasqualini, Antonella Mariani and Ermanno Porro, a reversal of the “Not All Men” perspective that invites rather an alliance between genders.
At the Villa Pallavicini Cultural Association venue at 9 PM, as part of the BookCity Milano Via Padova program, Water, Soap and Gin Tonic – Tales of monstrous women who live inside us, with Elisa Maria Bottiglieri and Marianna Folli, an anthology of feminine portraits, ironic and irreverent, building a true bestiary of “monsters” female. From Lato D | Libreria del Desiderio, at 7 PM, Roberta Lippi, Roberta Marasco and Kalina Muhova explore, through different perspectives, romantic relationships, group dynamics, and manipulation mechanisms, with words that wound, messages that disappear, and silences that become tools of control (The Grammar of Silence and Emotional Manipulation). At IULM University, at 5 PM, the singer Noemi tells about herself, her music, her relationship with books, in dialogue with Paolo Giovannetti and Marta Piazza.
The New BookCity Milano Project for Early Childhood
BookCity Milano 0-6 is the new BookCity Milano project dedicated to early childhood, created with the contribution of Fondazione Cariplo within the Anita – Early Childhood First challenge, aimed at bringing children closer to books and reading from the earliest years of life, promoting reading as an experience of discovery, relationship and sharing, and helping to counteract educational inequalities through access to culture. “A real and integrated program within the program, to promote access to culture from early childhood through animated readings, creative workshops, theater and musical performances for children, as well as family and caregiver encounters.” The inaugural edition of BookCity Milano 0-6 will be preceded on November 12 at 6 PM at the Arnoldo and Alberto Mondadori Foundation / Laboratory by a session dedicated to the relationship between climate change and child health with climatologist Rosa Pietroiusti, in conversation with pediatrician Fabio Mosca, moderated by Matteo Caccia. In the following days, the program will include the first events of Fila a nanna, the Lombardia Museums Subscription project that turns museums into places of adventure and discovery through fairy tales and theatrical incursions; read-aloud sessions led by volunteers from the Milan Reading Pact; animated readings; workshops and a session with Geronimo Stilton. The calendar will also feature a Cremona event, Guscio di noce: animated readings and a workshop with Ilaria Zanellato (November 23 at 5 PM, Polo Mario Lodi).
Neighborhood Initiatives
In addition to increasingly reaching out regionally, in line with the project “Reading Around – BookCity During the Year,” BookCity Milano milan aims to concretely enhance Milan’s neighborhoods by involving local realities; with this aim, each year the event will focus on a different district, building a dedicated slate. The chosen district for the fifteenth edition is Via Padova. In collaboration with Gruppo LeggendaMi, Associazione Culturale Villa Pallavicini, LibroTrotter, Biblioteca Crescenzago, Mosso, Laboratorio Co.Cotte, OnOff, Heracles Gymnasium, Scomodo, Equi.Voci and AssabOne, Centro Culturale Musulmano, Archivio Giuseppe Pinelli, LILT Milano Monza Brianza, a slate that includes presentations and meetings, readings and workshops for girls and boys, and in collaboration with Chamber of Commerce of Milan Monza Brianza Lodi, literary walks led by Gianni Biondillo and Dino Barra to discover the neighborhood, guided tours to places to rediscover.
Everything You Always Wanted to Ask an Author
In collaboration with LIM – Association of Independent Booksellers of Milan, Everything You Always Wanted to Ask an Author, four bookstore encounters with four major authors to chat about their books, their characters, their style, what they love but also what they do not love: Thursday, November 26 at 6:30 PM at Lato D | Libreria del Desiderio with Roberta Recchia; Friday, November 27 at 7 PM at Scamamù Libri giochi e spazio with Lorenza Gentile; Saturday, November 28 at 6:30 PM at the bookstore In cerca di guai, where the guest is Gianrico Carofiglio; and Sunday, November 29 at 4 PM at Mamì Libri&Birra with Laura Imai Messina.
Authors Featured at BookCity 2026
Many international writers will present their new works: the British Edmund de Waal (How to Begin, November 22 at 4 PM in the Conference Hall at the Fondazione Luigi Rovati), the French Daniel Pennac (Mallet or the Novel of Looks, November 24 at 6:30 PM in the Auditorium of the San Fedele Cultural Foundation), the Spanish Arturo Pérez-Reverte (November 25 at 4 PM, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart), the Dutch Jan Brokken (The Melancholy of the Traveler, November 25 at 6 PM in the Conference Hall at the Ca’ Granda IRCCS Foundation), the French Mathieu Belezi (Canticle of Chaos, November 26 at 6:30 PM at the Ca’ Granda IRCCS Foundation Historical Archive), the Irish Sinead Nolan (The Count’s Game, November 27 at 6:30 PM in the Sala Bertarelli of Castello Sforzesco), the Argentine Alejandro Guillermo Roemmers (The Mystery of the Last Stradivari, November 27 at 6:30 PM at the Ca’ Granda IRCCS Foundation Historical Archive), the German Leon Engler (The Botanics of Madness, November 28 at 11 AM at the Brera Botanic Garden), the Spanish Fernando Aramburu (Maite, November 28 at 6 PM in the Sala Viscontea), the Canadian David Goudreault (Mother Beast, November 29 at 3 PM in the Sala Weil Weiss), the Israeli Eshkol Nevo (Life and Writing, November 29 at 3 PM in the Sala Multifunction at the Feltrinelli Foundation), the Spanish Alicia Giménez-Bartlett (Under the Hellish Sky, November 29 at 4:30 PM in the Sala Viscontea), the Canadian Sheila Heti (Alphabetical Diaries – Reordering a Life from A to Z, November 29 at 4:30 PM in Triennale Milano – Agora).
There will also be some of the most beloved names in Italian literature with their books: on Wednesday, November 25, Mario Calabresi (The Voices of Others, 6:30 PM at the Auditorium of the San Fedele Cultural Foundation); on Thursday, November 26, Fabio Volo (When Love Surprises You, 8:30 PM, Castello Sforzesco in Sala Viscontea); on Friday, November 27, Vincenzo Latronico (A Splendid Ruin, 6:30 PM in the Grand Hall of the Triennale); on Saturday, November 28, Donatella Di Pietrantonio (Staying Too Late, 11 AM, Sala Viscontea – Castello Sforzesco), Enrico Galiano (My Best Friend is a Ghost, 11 AM in Sala Bertarelli – Castello Sforzesco), Ilaria Tuti (And It Is a Little Night and a Little Dawn – The Historical Tragedy and Female Strength, 11:30 AM at the Ambrosian Diocesan Library), Luca Crovi (Men of Peace in a Time of War, 11:30 AM at the Crypt of the Ca’ Granda IRCCS Foundation Historical Archive opened especially for the occasion), Matteo Bussola (The Sun in the Puddles, 12:30 PM, Sala Blu of Teatro Franco Parenti), Alessandro Perissinotto and Piero D’Ettorre (The Cat’s Game – A Case by Lawyer Meroni, 3 PM, Café Rouge of Teatro Franco Parenti), Gianni Biondillo (The Return of Inspector Ferraro, 3 PM in Sala Bertarelli – Castello Sforzesco), Simona Vinci (Madonna of Anger, 3:30 PM in Agora in Triennale Milano), Dacia Maraini with Vivian Lamarque (A Life Is a Life – The Writing and the Gentle Strength of Engagement, 4:30 PM in Sala Viscontea – Castello Sforzesco), Marco Malvaldi (The Silk Staircase, 4:30 PM, Café Rouge of Teatro Franco Parenti), Nicola Lagioia (Santa Barbara, 3 PM in Sala Granda of the Triennale Milano), Cristina Cassar Scalia (The Rooms of the Sirocco, 4:30 PM in the Grand Hall of Triennale Milano), Claudia De Lillo (Diary of a (Almost) Normal Family, 6 PM in Sala Bertarelli – Castello Sforzesco), Alessia Gazzola with Benedetta Parodi (Miss Bee and the First-Class Deception, 6 PM at the Philological Circle, Sala Liberty), Andrea Vitali (Word of the Parish Clerk. The Cases of Sheriff Ernesto Maccadò, 6 PM, Café Rouge of Teatro Franco Parenti); on Sunday, November 29: Alessandra Carati with Fumettibrutti (Acts of Family and Rebellion, 11 AM Agora in Triennale Milano), Francesco Carofiglio (The Confession of Elsa, 11 AM at Piccolo Teatro Grassi), Jonathan Bazzi in dialogue with Daria Bignardi (Bestiola, 11 AM in Agora in Triennale Milano), Milena Palminteri with Cosetta Santina (Sicilia: Stories of Women, Freedom and Destiny, 11 AM at Teatro Franco Parenti in Sala Blu), Massimo Gramellini (Be a People Who Needs Heroes, 12:30 PM, Sala Grande of Teatro Franco Parenti), Laura Imai Messina (The Spirit of Japan, 12:30 PM at the Grand Hall of Triennale Milano), Walter Siti (Portrait of a Drowned, 3 PM at the Ambrosiana Library), Mauro Corona (Happy – Give Voice to Memory, 3 PM in Sala Viscontea – Castello Sforzesco), Bruno Morchio (A Veil over the Heart, 3 PM at Café Rouge of Teatro Franco Parenti), Carlo Lucarelli (Càgnaz, 3 PM at Castello Sforzesco in Sala Bertarelli), Marco Amerighi (How Much This Black Shines, 3 PM in Agora in Triennale Milano), Paolo Nori (Talking About Love is a Bit of a Disaster, 4:30 PM in Sala Multifunctional – Feltrinelli Foundation), Diego De Silva (Melancholy Blues, 4:30 PM at Café Rouge of Teatro Franco Parenti), Paolo Di Paolo (Tremor, 6 PM, Café Rouge of Teatro Franco Parenti), the king of Italian thrillers Donato Carrisi (The House of Breaths. Friendship, Adolescence and a Dark Discovery of Self, 6 PM in Triennale Milano – Sala d’Onore).
The Third Edition of BFF – Books Friends Forever (with ilLibraio.it)
The program of BFF is structured in events accessible by reservation, and is designed to cross the various narrative genres and intrigue both young and older readers, enthusiasts of literature (from the latest novelties to the classics), fantasy, romance, comics, crime, young adult fiction, but also essays and (auto)biographies.
A Broad Space for Poetry
This year more than ever space is given to poetry: the opening of the exhibition Hello stranger – Poems for strangers at the Casa degli Artisti on November 26 at 6:30 PM, open until Sunday, November 29, with readings of texts by the ARIMO collective, the poetry residency at the Casa degli Artisti; on November 28 at 12:30 PM, Milano port of the sea and Napoli a thousand colors with Luca Mastrantonio and Fabio Pedone, introduced by Roberto Galaverni, guest Milo De Angelis; at 5:30 PM, Every Body Returns, with Giovanna Cristina Vivinetto and Simone Vero; at 7:30 PM, Poetic Jukebox with Patrizia Valduga; on November 29 at 11 AM, The Little Trees of Vivian, an event organized by the Poetry and the City collective with Vivian Lamarque, Nicola Gardini, Vittorio Lingiardi, Cristina Battocletti, Giuseppina Manin, Piergaetano Marchetti, Luca Formenton, Michele Crisostomo, Stefano Jacini; at 2 PM, To reach the infinite would require stepping out. Poems of windy days with Paola Mastrocola, a return to the poetic word of a beloved prose author; at 5:30 PM Poetry Pitch with Isabella Leardini, Tommaso Di Dio, Massimo Gezzi and others, all at the Casa degli Artisti. At Teatro Franco Parenti in Sala Blu, on November 28 at 11 AM, Beppe Severgnini offers a dozen suggestions, illuminated by the verses of fifty Italian poets of the last century, to try to bring poetry into our daily lives (The Art of Living Poetic-ally).
At the Salone d’Onore of Triennale Milano, on the 29th at 3 PM, Lessons of the New, an autobiography in verse with Vittorio Lingiardi and Federica Fracassi. And at the Brera International Center, on November 28 at 11:30 AM, With a Pen in Hand. The Necessary Pleasure of Writing with Nicola Gardini, an event that explores the ancient and deeply human act of tracing signs.
Also Space for Comics and Graphic Novels
Also space for comics: a meeting with the celebrated cartoonist Zerocalcare (Where Do We Go from Here, Zero?, on November 29 at 12 PM at Piccolo Teatro Strehler), the presentation of the latest book by Leo Ortolani (The Last Jackal, November 28 at 4:30 PM in Sala Bertarelli – Castello Sforzesco), Milo Manara who shares his perspective on the eroticism represented in art and literature (The Adventure of Eroticism, November 23 at 6:30 PM at Brera International Center), Roberto Recchioni and his reinterpretation of Romeo and Juliet (These Violent Pleasures, November 28 at 3 PM at Brera International Center), Sted presenting a humorous, incisive graphic novel about how patriarchy is alive and well, outside and inside us (Patriarchy Cannot Prevail Forever, November 29 at 6 PM at the House of Psychology).
Art and Fashion in the Program
Art is discussed at the Fondazione Luigi Rovati, with the presentation of the catalog accompanying the site-specific installation Victoria Mater. The Idol and the Icon, set up in the eastern aula of the Capitolium in Brescia. And at the Brescia Archaeological Park, with Francesco Vezzoli and Donatien Grau (November 27 at 6 PM); with Claudio Strinati, presenting the Lezioni brevi di meraviglia series, opening with Raphael (November 28 at 4:30 PM in the Conference Hall at the Royal Palace); at the Veneranda Biblioteca Ambrosiana, in the Hall of the Academies, space for a talk with Brazilian artist and Franciscan friar Sidival Fila, in dialogue with Antonello Grimaldi, Andrea Canova, Alberto Rocca, Donatien Grau, Cristiano Grisogoni and Pietro Della Lucia (November 28 at 6 PM); Flavio Caroli, in dialogue with Roberta Scorranese, takes us on a journey through the history and geography of Italian art, seeking the spirit of places and the deep knots of our identity (The Spirit of Places. Genius Loci. A Journey Through the Face and Soul of Nature, November 29 at 3 PM in the Royal Palace Conference Hall); at the Museo del Novecento Francesco “Kento” Carlo and Patrick Zaki meet the public during the event Voices Against Censorship: Yemeni Art Between Memory and Justice (November 29 at 3 PM), the true story of artist Aladin Hussain Al Baraduni, a session to talk about memory and the courage to fight for justice. Vincenzo Trione speaks of Argan after Argan. From Modern Art to 21st-Century Art (November 29 at 6:30 PM at the Museo del Novecento), a talk dedicated to the discovery of the extraordinary Brueghel family with Bernard Aikema (The Brueghel. The Birth of Painting Genres in Europe, November 29 at 11:30 AM at the Royal Palace in the Conference Hall), the street artist TVBOY (Art Without Permission, November 28 at 4:30 PM in the Triennale Agora).
Fashion with Lorenzo Bises and his A Little Philosophy of Vintage Dressing (at Palazzo Morando on November 26 at 6 PM), and with Claudio Calò who retraces the glamour of international fashion, unforgettable loves and wounds that have never healed in dialogue with Maria Luisa Frisa (Beyond What Happens, November 28 at 11:30 AM, at Libreria Feltrinelli Piazza Duomo).
Space for Cinema, Music and Theater
Of course there will be cinema, with encounters such as It Is Still and Always Time of Gothic Padano with Pupi Avati, Claudio Bartolini and Andrea Scarabelli (November 29 at 11 AM at Anteo Palazzo del Cinema) or Open Eyes, where director and screenwriter Maurizio Nichetti tells his life in an irreverent autobiography spanning over fifty years of career (November 28 at 11 AM at Anteo Palazzo del Cinema). And music: Ricky Gianco, Paolo Crespi and Venanzio Postiglione at the event One Cannot Stop Dreaming. A Rock Biography (November 24 at 7 PM at MaMu – Magazzino Musica), Fortissimo, my story with music, the autobiography of Gianna Fratta, one of Italy’s foremost orchestra conductors, in dialogue with Mattia Palma (November 26 at 6 PM at MaMu – Magazzino Musica), the return of the Spanish singer-songwriter Tonino Carotone with Federico Traversa (The Maestro of the Time of the Shout – Gran Reserva, November 25 at 8 PM at Café Rouge of Teatro Franco Parenti), or Tim Willis (via satellite), Massimiliano Scuriatti and Enzo Gentile on Syd Barrett (November 27 at 7 PM, also at MaMu), California dreamin with Ezio Guaitamacchi (November 29 at 4:30 PM, again at MaMu), the meeting with composer and organist Francesco Filidei at the Ridotto of La Scala (The Scala of Books, November 27 at 5:30 PM), Gino Castaldo and Andrea Laffranchi recounting how our relationship with music is changing (Is Music Really Over? A Revolution to Listen To, November 27 at 6:30 PM at Libreria Feltrinelli, Genova Avenue).
At the AEM Foundation, on November 28 at 5:30 PM, The Hour of Distances, an original theatrical-musical performance balancing music, words and visions with Lory Muratty and Andy Bluvertigo, curated by Fondazione AEM. And theater: on the eve of its premiere at the Piccolo, Concita De Gregorio tells the story of three generations of women, secrets and wounds, from page to stage in Three Women, from Page to Stage, Libreria Feltrinelli Piazza Piemonte, November 26 at 6:30 PM.
Spirituality at BookCity 2026
On the theme of spirituality, the cycle Craftsmen of Ideas returns to the San Fedele Cultural Foundation with four appointments that intertwine religion with BookCity Milano’s annual theme: Magnificent Humanitas: the compass to rediscover the Earth with Archbishop Mario Delpini in dialogue with don Christian Barone and journalist Gigio Rancilio (November 27 at 6:30 PM); Generating the Future: to Rediscover the Earth with Sr. Katia Roncalli, Franco Vaccari and Marco Girardo (November 29 at 3 PM); The Risk of Believing: from Flannery O’Connor to Us with Benedetta Centovalli, Roberto Maier, and Alessandro Zaccuri (November 29 at 4:30 PM); and finally The Sense’s Vial: Rediscovering the Meaning of Humanity between Desire, Faith and Hope with Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia, Silvano Petrosino and Elisabetta Soglio (November 29 at 6 PM). Also at the San Fedele Cultural Foundation, Umberto Galimberti debunks one of the Western world’s greatest myths (The Illusion of Freedom, November 27 at 6:30 PM). Franco Arminio returns to the villages of Terracarne revisiting his journey through Italy’s interior and inviting us to rethink villages as communities (Libreria Feltrinelli Piazza Piemonte, November 24 at 6:30 PM). On November 25 at 6 PM, Roberto Mercadini tells the Bible from an unprecedented perspective (What Story Is the Bible!, at the Brera International Center); at the Feltrinelli Foundation in the Multifunctional Hall (November 28 at 11:30), in The Evil and Its Mystery Vito Mancuso deconstructs the image of an all-powerful God arbitrating human destinies, proposing a cosmological view that allows us to go beyond the idea of a God who punishes or “permits” Evil; at the Natural History Museum, Tiziano Fratus intertwines personal experiences and reflections ranging from pines to waterfalls, from literature to music, from poetry to politics, a call to practice Buddhism without the pressure of perfection (The Buddhist Sparrow – in the woods and in nature, November 29 at 3 PM); a journey through Buddhist meditation and shamanic imagination with Selene Calloni Williams, Luciano Tellaroli and the dog Aki in The Forest Inside Us (Circolo Filologico Milanese, Sala Liberty, November 29 at 3 PM); with Guidalberto Bormolini, Ask the Trees at the Civil Temple of San Sebastiano (November 29 at 3 PM); at the Brera International Center, Lorenza Bernardi offers an experiential workshop inspired by the “capibara philosophy exercises” (Go Where the Capybara Takes You. An Urban Wonder Experience, November 29 at 4 PM).
Meetings on Technology and Science
Many this year are the meetings devoted to technology and science: at Castello Sforzesco – Sala Viscontea on November 29 at 11:30 with Planetary Talk: If AI Answers, Who Still Knows How to Ask?, a panel with those who create and those who think about technology and the future, between possible scenarios and authorial visions. And the thread continues with Planetary Show: Socrates 16:22, November 30 at 8:30 PM at Piccolo Teatro Studio Melato: a show addressing the theme of AI through the relationship between a father and a daughter, a deeply personal bond that does not exclude clashes and separations. With Stefano Accorsi, Ludovica Martino, Tatiana Tommasi, written by Filippo Gentili with scientific consultancy from the Politecnico di Torino; directed by Ferdinando Ceriani, music by Roberto Vallicelli, AI artist: Guido Astolfi. Both events are produced in collaboration with Intesa Sanpaolo.
On November 24, at 6 PM, at the Milano LUISS Hub for Makers and Students, the essayist and futurist Jamie Metzl proposes an alliance between technological progress and human values, in dialogue with Alberto Giuffrè and Federico Mambretti (From the genetic code to AI: ethics and technology in service of life); on November 27 at 6 PM, at the Cenacolo of the National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci, Massimo Polidoro returns to tell our story, answering a new disquieting question: what have we done with the world we found? (A Brief History of Knowledge. From Fire to AI: How Man Learned to Change the World); also at the National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci on November 27 at 6:30 PM, in Sala Biancamano, And you, how do you know it? Understanding science to decide together with Paola Dubini, Amalia Ercoli Finzi, Fiorenzo Galli and Marta Meli; on November 28, other meetings at the National Museum of Science and Technology in Sala Cenacolo: at 11:30 AM, Digital Identities with Paolo Benanti and Massimo Sideri telling the story of Nicolas Guillou, a French magistrate of the International Criminal Court whose presence on the web was deleted overnight; Luca De Biase explains the Principles of Artificial Civilization at 3 PM; at 4:30 PM the “rock star of physics” Gabriella Greison tells the physics of complex systems applied to everyday small things. At the Civic Planetarium Ulrico Hoepli, two lectio magistralis: Ersilia Vaudo on a thrilling journey through the cosmos, matter, and life (The Speed of Darkness) and Giovanni Covone guiding through the depths of the universe (The Cosmos and Life: Coincidence or Necessity?), on November 28 at 11 AM and 7:30 PM; at ISPI – Palazzo Clerici, in Sala Corte, two perspectives on the future and two complementary attitudes: the trust of those who build it, Giorgio Metta, and the clarity of those who decode it, Stefano Quintarelli, moderated by Alessia de Luca (Between risk of a bubble and the future: the artificial intelligence that awaits us, November 29 at 3 PM). With William Egginton and Ilaria Gaspari, we will traverse the margins of Western thought, where science, literature, logic and mysticism meet and blend (The Rigor of Angels: Borges, Heisenberg, Kant between Knowledge and Reality, November 24 at 7 PM at the House of Psychology).
At the National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci, on November 29, starting at 3 PM, returns the now-traditional appointment Words of Care (with non-coercive support of Recordati). Now in its fifth edition, the path conceived and directed by journalist and essayist Eliana Liotta wants to tell the values, culture and progress of life sciences and health starting from four key words: Know with Telmo Pievani; Reconnect with Valentina Di Mattei, Andrea Gaggioli and Marta Pizzolante; Defend with Alberto Mantovani; Nourish with Leonardo Calò, Raffaella Di Pace, Stefano Vendrame.
On November 27 at 11 in Sala Buzzati at the Fondazione Corriere della Sera, with the meeting Society, it’s time to grow. Minors, new rules and the value of reading in the age of hyperconnectivity, the Federation of Paper and Printing brings to BookCity a dialogue among institutions, schools, experts and young people, not to demonize digital but to ask how to restore to new generations the time and spaces needed to grow, be together, concentrate, read and think.
Giovanni Storti in Stories in Open Sky offers a unique tale of experiences of immersion in nature and of preserving natural ecosystems; in Italy Hidden, Edward Cutler, Italian-born art historian, in dialogue with Cristiano Dal Sasso offers a fascinating account that traverses a young and evolving territory; both on November 29 at the Milan Natural History Museum, at 5 PM and 6 PM.
On November 28 a journey through history with Aldo Cazzullo (Our Renaissance, November 28 at 11 AM at Piccolo Teatro Strehler), while Franco Cardini with Alessandro Righetto recount three thousand years of the history of Palestine (Holy and Cursed Land. History and Prehistory of Palestine, November 25 at 6:30 PM at the San Fedele Cultural Foundation in Sala Ricci).
Meetings Dedicated to Adolescence
Another hot topic of the year’s program is adolescence: among the many encounters, Acquaragia. Confessions of a Deserter where Massimo Recalcati speaks candidly about himself (November 26 at 6:30 PM in the Grand Hall of the Teatro Franco Parenti); with Luca Mazzucchelli, a talk on the will to change (Just One Idea. Everything Changes When You Change How You Think, at the House of Psychology on November 26 at 7:30 PM); Save the School (and We Will Save Ourselves), with Marco Rossi-Doria, Matteo Lancini, moderated by Benedetta Marietti, in collaboration with the YAWP Festival, proposes a debate to highlight vulnerabilities in the crossing between generations and the strengths of education, reminding us that children don’t learn by themselves (International Center of Brera, November 27 at 6:30 PM); Adolescents: These Aliens, promoted by the Hapax Foundation, with Elena Buday and Anna Stefi (November 28 at 12:30 PM at the House of Psychology) attempts to trace the sanity of adolescents, perhaps lost due to the digital that sent them to the Moon; Gustavo Pietropolli Charmet, one of the leading experts on the development age, describes a generation that has learned to face the fluidity of identity, the school crisis and the changing family roles together with Manuela Porta and Cecilia Ferrari (Smart Adolescents: New Languages for Growing, November 28 at 3 PM at the House of Psychology); the doctor and psychotherapist Alberto Pellai proposes re-building the alliance between family and school and reclaiming lost authority, exercising the power of the “no that makes you grow” (I’ll Make You Run Uphill, November 28 at 3 PM at the Teatro Franco Parenti in Sala Blu); The Experience of Loss. Living Between What Remains and What Disappears by Joan-Carles Mèlich, in dialogue with Vittorio Lingiardi (November 28 at 4:30 PM at the House of Psychology), offers a philosophical itinerary around loss, inviting us to recognize it without trying to fill it; in the Triennale Milano’s Salone d’Onore, the educational psychologist Stefano Rossi accompanies mothers and fathers through the shadows of adolescence (Explosive Adolescents, November 28 at 6 PM); in the Feltrinelli Foundation’s Multifunctional Hall, Matteo Lancini and Matteo Bussola will discuss the fears of romantic relationships and whether it still makes sense for new generations to imagine a future “together” (Sometimes I Love You, November 29 at 11:30 AM).
Current Events at BookCity
Many guests will engage with current events, politics and society: Laura Silvia Battaglia and Cinzia Bianco on the Middle East (Tools to Understand the Middle East, November 28 at 12:30 PM), Maha Hassan and Anna Maria Bianco on Syria (Syria, Kurdish Identity and Memory: the Writing of Maha Hassan, November 28 at 3 PM), Sondos Sabra speaks in first person about the Gaza destruction in dialogue with Carlotta Cossutta (If in a Rainy Night Your Roof Were the Sky. Female Voices of Resistance in Gaza, November 16? 16:30) and there will be discussions about Genoa’s G8 with Gianpaolo Trevisi (Face to Face. Genoa 2001. The policeman I could have been, November 29 at 4:30 PM) and Luigi Mastrodonato (The Order. Surveillance, Punish, Hate, right after at 6 PM), all in Sala Lettura – Feltrinelli Foundation.
Massimo D’Alema will recount the left in We Were Communists on November 28 at 7 PM in the Sala Multifunzionale (Feltrinelli Foundation), Paolo Berizzi The Secret Book of Forza Nuova at the House of Memory on November 28 at 6 PM. And again: Black Lead with Michela Ponzani, on Fausto and Iaio, at 4:30 PM in the Auditorium Demetrio Stratos of Radio Popolare.
At the Ambrosiana Library Domenico Quirico speaks about Afghanistan (November 28 at 3 PM). At Castello Sforzesco in Sala Bertarelli, Simone Tuzza and Stefano Nazzi in the encounter From Gucci to Garlasco: when crime meets pop (November 29 at 11 AM) investigate the universe of crime in contemporary media culture, from the spectacle of violence in TV series to the construction of the ‘monster’ in talk shows. Also Stefano Nazzi, together with Luca Mastrantonio, will guide us through the darkness of mind-control to understand how a cult is born (Journey into the darkness of cult minds, November 29 at 4:30 PM in the Triennale’s Grand Hall).
Also at Castello Sforzesco, in the Art Library, Licia Tumminello and Stefania Auci recount the first strike by women workers in Sicily (November 28 at 11 AM). With Elena Granata a discussion on openness (open to the public) at FAI – Villa Necchi Campiglio, November 28 at 5 PM, with Vera Gheno on gender at Libreria Claudiana (November 24 at 6:30 PM). Bruno Vespa, after recounting the years of fascism, tells the history of the Second Republic in dialogue with Paolo Mieli (The Years of the Second Republic, Corriere della Sera Foundation – Sala Buzzati, November 28 at 11 AM). At PIME – Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions, with Simone Feder e Biagio Simonetta, a dramatic and hopeful journey In the Heart of Rogoredo, the largest drug market square in Europe (November 29 at 11 AM); always Biagio Simonetta will discuss the fentanyl epidemic, not only an American problem (November 26 at 7 PM at Spazio Circolo della Stampa); with Anna Zafesova, Pegah Moshir Pour, Lucio Tirinnanzi and Joshua Evangelista, Travel through World Disorder, passionate urban portraits along the less-traveled streets of Tehran and Saint Petersburg, key cities of contemporary times (November 28 at 4:30 PM at PIME); Milena Gabanelli and Simona Ravizza return with a major investigation into the state of our country through the real numbers that no one knows (The Reckoning. Investigation into Italy’s Powerful and Cheating Against Honest Strength, November 26 at 6:30 PM Castello Sforzesco in Sala Viscontea); and more: the personalities who have built contemporary British identity with Matteo Castellucci and Francesco Costa (What Happens to the United Kingdom?, November 28 at 4:30 PM at PIME), China’s view on the USA with Simone Pieranni and Filippo Fasulo (The American Mirror, November 28 at 3 PM at ISPI – Palazzo Clerici), the Acquaformosa experience, a small Arberesh village in the province of Cosenza that became a laboratory of civil revival and integration with Francesco Donnici, Giovanni Manoccio, Gabriele Rabaiotti and Antonello Mandarano (Acquaformosa. A Story of Civil Resistance and People’s Unity, November 23 at 6:30 PM at the Milan Lawyer’s Building), the dancer Saba Poori who challenged Iran, with Federico Taddia (Saba Dances Hope, November 28 at 11:30 AM at Café Rouge of Teatro Franco Parenti), Nicola Gratteri and Antonio Nicaso traversing 50 Years of the ‘Ndrangheta. Inside Italy’s Most Powerful Criminal Organization (November 29 at 11 AM in the Sala d’Onore of Triennale Milano), Tiziana Ferrario on brain drain from Italy (The Urge to Leave, November 28 at 11:30 AM at the Museo Poldi Pezzoli), Giordano Gasperini and Riccardo Vedovato, moderated by Livia Viganò, on Factanza’s new book about the labor market (How We Became Happy Slaves to Work?, November 28 at 4 PM at the Museo Poldi Pezzoli), Benedetto Lattanzi, Valentino Maimone, Luca Lupària Donati and Cuno Tarfusser on wrongful imprisonment (One Every Eight Hours. Innocents – The White Book of Unjust Detention in Italy, November 24 at 6:30 PM at the Milan Lawyer’s Building).
At the Sant’Egidio Community, November 23 at 2:30 PM, Fondazione Amplifon offers a journey through the pages of Homer’s Odyssey: a read-aloud reserved for the district’s elderly residents. Labor, wages and taxation in inflation-era Italy with Rita Querzè in dialogue with Marco Leonardi and Leonzio Rizzo at the meeting The Hidden Price on November 27 at 6 PM in Fondazione AEM.
Many Sport-Themed Meetings
Many meetings also about sport, including: in the foyer of the ADI Design Museum, Emotions. The 500 GP of Pirelli in the Formula One World Championship with Marco Tronchetti Provera, a session to celebrate Pirelli’s presence in Formula 1 from 1950, tied to the publication by Fondazione Pirelli (November 26 at 6:30 PM); at Castello Sforzesco in Sala Viscontea, New World Stories. A Century of Football in 14 Adventures with Federico Buffa and Carlo Pizzigoni (November 27 at 6:30 PM). And: Two Lives. The Parallel Slalom with My Daughter Federica Brignone with Ninna Quario Brignone (November 28 at 5 PM at the Gianni Miura Sports Library) and Lights at San Siro with Luigi Garlando (November 28 at 6 PM), both moderated by Gino Cervi.
Appointments Dedicated to Publishing and Journalism
Many meetings also dedicated to publishing and journalism: on Wednesday, November 4 at 12 PM at CASVA the Italian Association of Publishers with the City of Milan – Culture Department presents the survey Culture, Library, and Museum Consumption in Milan. Now in its sixth year, the AIE Observatory for BookCity Milano returns to offer an updated snapshot of cultural participation in the city within the Culture Forum. Futura – New Perspectives on Reading and Publishing in Lombardy with Francesca Caruso, Fabio Del Giudice, Pierluigi Panza and Luca Formenton (November 26 at 11 AM at the Mondadori Foundation – Laboratory); How Much Do Women Matter in Italian Publishing?, a path of women authors, editors, translators, editors, designers and series directors who have managed to carve out a leading role in the book world with Annalena Benini, Giovanna Torre, Roberto Cicala and students of the Pavia Publishing Master (November 28 at 11 AM at the Mondadori Foundation – Laboratory); The Ideal Publisher, the presentation of the latest issue of PreText. Books & Periodicals, Their Past and Future, the magazine born in 2013 and entirely devoted to the publishing world, with Ada Gigli Marchetti, Pier Luigi Vercesi, Maria Luisa Betri, Piero Colaprico, Luca Formenton and Giacomo Girardi (November 28 at 3 PM at the Mondadori Foundation – Laboratory), Laterza – A Publishing House in Italy’s Twentieth Century with Ale s/sandra Tarquini, Luca Formenton, Francesco Torchiani and Paolo Verri (November 27 at 6:30 PM, Mondadori Foundation – Laboratory), Debuting. From Writing Courses to Publication, with Milena Palminteri, Roberta Cosimo, Açelya Yönaç, Claudio Calò (November 28 at 11 AM at Mondadori Foundation – Laboratory), a meeting with Jordi Martí Garcés, Marta Perego and Daniel Russo, on Blackie’s Liberated Classics series: contemporary re-readings of immortal masterpieces (November 29 at 4:30 PM at the Brera International Center).
At the Circolo della Stampa space, Quelli che… Il Giorno presents a volume tracing the presence of Italy’s great culture protagonists on the pages of the Milan daily in the Sixties, with Mario Consani, Stefano Passarelli and Piero Lotito (November 26 at 6 PM).
At Castello Sforzesco in Sala Viscontea, Leila Guerriero in dialogue with Eva Giovannini on narrative journalism (November 28 at 12:30 PM) and immediately after at 3 PM Silence in the Press with Corrado Formigli and Selvaggia Lucarelli, a passionate defense of journalism as a democratic craft. At Piccolo Teatro Grassi (November 28 at 3 PM), Talk About It with Friends live, the podcast by Daria Bignardi, in conversation with Silvia Righini and Stefano Sgambati, produced by OnePodcast.
Sunday, November 29 at 11:30 AM, also at the Scomodo Editorial Office, Parallasse LIVE: the weekly press review of Scomodo moves to BookCity Milano for a special weekend edition. Moments of shared reading and press critique alternate with a selection of the best pieces from the last month by the Scomodo editorial team; with the support of the Fondazione di Comunità Milano.
Literary Prizes
Of course, the usual literary prizes will not be missing: on November 24 at 11 AM the Headquarters Pirelli hosts the final three entries of the VI edition of the Campiello Junior, an award established by the Fondazione Il Campiello with Pirelli and the Pirelli Foundation; on Thursday, November 26 at 6:30 PM in Sala Bertarelli at Castello Sforzesco, the Bianciardi Prize, with Luciana Bianciardi, Piero Colaprico, Gabriella D’Ina, Gianluca Foglia, Giovanni Papi and the winners; at the same time, at Edra Palazzo Durini, the eighth edition of the IO Donna Eroine d’oggi Literary Prize, born in the heart of BookCity and dedicated to female characters who, in the year, most impressed a jury of booksellers from across Italy; on Friday, November 27 at 5:30 PM the awards of the 2026 edition of the Free Literary Tournament IoScrittore, promoted by the GeMS Group, with Rossella Carboni, Licia Tumminello, Stefano Mauri and Grazia Rusticali moderated by Jolanda Di Virgilio; at 6:30 PM in the Multifunctional Hall of the Feltrinelli Foundation, it will be time for Writing to Resist. PEN Inge Feltrinelli – Writing as Resistance Award, the awards ceremony with Burhan Sönmez; on Sunday, November 29 at 11 AM at the Mondadori Foundation – Laboratory will be the Mondadori Campus, the awarding and the launch of the new edition of the Manual of Reading and Writing with Giacomo Papi, Edoardo Zambelli and Alberto Gelsumini; at 12:30 PM, at Castello Sforzesco’s Sala Bertarelli, the Megliounlibro 2026 Literary Prize with Laura Prinetti and Giuliana Salvi.
Celebration of Cultural, Publishing and Italian History Milestones
BookCity Milano will also be an occasion to celebrate anniversaries in culture, publishing and Italian history. At the Corriere della Sera Foundation, Friday, November 27 at 8:30 PM in Sala Buzzati, a screening of the docu-film 150 Years of Corriere della Sera – The Story of Italy with Neri Marcorè, a 3D Produzioni production, realized with the support of the Fund for the development of investments in cinema and audiovisuals from the Ministry of Culture, in collaboration with the Corriere della Sera Foundation for the 150 years of the newspaper. With the support of Intesa Sanpaolo.
Also in the Corriere della Sera Foundation, Sala Buzzati, on the occasion of “80 years since women’s right to vote,” on November 28 at 3:30 PM, there will be the screening of the docu-film The Vote of Anna. June 2, 1946, directed by Michele Mally on the subject of Didi Gnocchi and written by Didi Gnocchi and Arianna Marelli. The story of two women who share the same name: nurse and partisan relay Anna Maria Mascherini, and Anna Iberti, the girl who smiles in the famous photograph by Federico Patellani on the front page of Corriere della Sera announcing the Republic’s victory in the 1946 constitutional referendum. A 3D Produzioni production, realized with the contribution of the Fund for the development of investments in cinema and audiovisuals from the Ministry of Culture, with the support of Intesa Sanpaolo, with the contribution of the City of Milan – “Milan is Memory” Project and the Pasquinelli Foundation, in collaboration with the Chiamale Storie Association.
At 100 years since the foundation of Agip, Eni, during the event Al secolo, “Energia”. Presentation of the book 100 years of energy. From Agip to Eni. An Italian History by Paolo Bricco (November 17 at 6 PM, Studio Melato of the Piccolo Teatro), “reflecting on the evolution of the energy world in which we move today: how energy influences the economic markets and geopolitics, how geopolitics and markets influence energy and modern society.” To provide new lenses for seeing the world, there will be Paolo Bricco, Marta Dassù and Ferruccio de Bortoli.
The Remembrance of Luis Sepúlveda
At the Casa degli Artisti on November 28 at 11 AM, a commemoration of the 100th birthday of Allen Ginsberg with Lino Guanciale during the event Wait ‘till I’m Dead; also on November 28 at 11:30 AM at Castello Sforzesco – Sala Weil Weiss, a remembrance of the writer who opened BookCity’s first edition in 2012, Chilean Luis Sepúlveda, on the occasion of the thirtieth anniversary of the publication of his Storia di una gabbianella e del gatto che le insegnò a volare.
At the Corriere della Sera Foundation, Sunday, November 29 at 11 AM, a remembrance of Oriana Fallaci on the twentieth anniversary of her death with Ferruccio de Bortoli and Andrea Cangini; also Oriana Fallaci in Words and Images, on November 29 at 4:30 PM at Palazzo Reale: a show, a podcast and a book to tell in words and images the battles and passions of a remarkable woman and journalist.
And Collodi (and Pinocchio)…
On November 24 at 6:30 PM at Circolo Filologico Milanese the 200th anniversary of Carlo Collodi’s birth will be celebrated with the presentation of the book When Pinocchio Wasn’t There with Antonio Manzini, Fabio Stassi, Beatrice Masini, Valeria Parrella, Remo Rapino, and Valentina De Poli.
Pinocchio is also the focus of the collaboration with Burgo Group Cartaceo 08. We Don’t Want to Become Good (November 27 at 11, Piccolo Teatro Studio Melato): the words of Francesco Piccolo meeting the live painting of six of the most esteemed Italian illustrators: Alessandro Baronciani, Mara Cerri, Gianluca Folì, Elisa Macellari, Pax Paloscia, Cinzia Zenocchini. An event exploring The Adventures of Pinocchio to question what it means to “become human” today. Building on Pinocchio’s major themes, Francesco Piccolo crafts a text that interrogates identity and transformation through his narrative voice. As part of the event, a limited-run leporello containing the text and original illustrations created especially for the day will be distributed free of charge. At the Teatro Gerolamo on November 25 at 7 PM, within the decade since the death of author Pia Pera, the performance/reading Al giardino ancora non l’ho detto returns to the stage, born from the artistic and human encounter between Lorenza Zambon, actress, gardener, and one of literature’s deepest voices on the relationship between human beings and nature; live music accompanies the tale, by Marco Remondini. A production by Casa degli Alfieri – Teatro e Natura.
Exchange with UNESCO Creative Cities of Literature
BookCity Milano continues its traditional exchange with UNESCO Creative Cities of Literature: this year Milan engages in dialogue with the city of Lyon. On Saturday, November 28 at Castello Sforzesco, in Sala Weil Weiss, three encounters with three French writers will take place: at 3 PM the afternoon opens with Emmanuelle Bayamack-Tam; at 5 PM the central appointment dedicated to Lyon with Ève Guerra in dialogue with Elena Rui; at 6 PM Jean Echenoz in dialogue with Marco Balzano will close the cycle. The Ca’ Granda IRCCS Foundation Historical Archive will host paleontologist Jean-Jacques Hublin (Tuesday, November 24 at 6:30 PM) and the writer Mathieu Belezi (Thursday, November 26 at 6:30 PM). At the San Fedele Cultural Foundation’s Auditorium, on Tuesday, November 24 at 6:30 PM, Daniel Pennac will present his Mallet or the Novel of Looks.
Shared Readings and Celebrations at BookCity
BookCity Milano is not only about books, lectures and presentations, but also about shared readings and celebrations: the Silent Reading of Il Sole 24 Ore conducted by Jean Marie del Bo at the Ostinata Library (November 28 at 11 AM), the Silent Reading Party Under 35 at the Museum Poldi Pezzoli (November 27 at 7:30 PM), the Blind Date Poetic at the Casa degli Artisti (November 27 at 9 PM), the La Lettura Festival at the Corriere della Sera Foundation (November 28 at 4 PM), And the Moon Knocked…, BookCity’s party in collaboration with PDE at the Casa degli Artisti (November 28 at 9 PM).
There are also literary walks, for example those tracing in Kafka’s footsteps as the author visited Milan in 1911 with his friend Max Brod (November 25 at 3 PM and November 28 at 11 AM, with Roberta Scagliarini, Marcello Zacchè and Simone Piepoli), or at the Monumental Museum, with Rosa Matteucci guiding the public on a literary-spiritual tour among some unusual monumental tombs in the Monumental Cemetery of Milan (November 28 at 10:30 AM and 2:50 PM).
BookCity University
BookCity University remains one of the festival’s beating hearts: universities and Milanese academies renew their joint commitment with a program that intertwines books, research, education, arts, and civil responsibility. The theme “The Sense on the Moon” becomes an opportunity to interpret a present marked by technological and social transformations, returning reading to the center of public debate. Classrooms, libraries, cloisters, studios, archives, theaters, markets, and university outposts in the districts form a distributed cultural geography.
For the University of Milan, BookCity highlights dialogue between scientific and humanistic disciplines, with guests such as Paolo Ferri and Telmo Pievani, Dario Franceschini and Roberto Eleopra, a Silent Reading Party and a collaboration with the Conservatory.
Bocconi4BookCity responds to the invitation of the “Senno sulla Luna” with a path that interweaves literature, art, education and memory.
At the University IULM, the singer Noemi speaks on gender-based violence and the activities of the Foundation “Una Nessuna Centomila.”
The Catholic University gives particular attention to psychological care, childhood traumas and the construction of healthy relationships.
The Faculty of Philosophy at the Vita-Salute San Raffaele University brings research to the Suffragio Market, with two paths dedicated to possible worlds, from philosophy to artificial intelligence, and to the cultural imagination of Brunetto Latini.
The Sigmund Freud University Milano proposes discussions on the evolution of cognitive therapy, bringing the public closer to health topics. In the year of its 250th anniversary, Brera Academy of Fine Arts links heritage and contemporaneity.
Politecnico di Milano carries the program into neighborhoods and places of cultural production, including the Off Campus San Siro, the Piccolo Teatro Grassi and the Spazio Fondazione Renzo Piano.
Università di Milano-Bicocca offers an open lecture on feminism, gender violence and the responsibility of words. The Conservatorio di Milano values archives and musical spaces; the NABA, Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti investigates the metamorphosis of images and stories through time; the Collegio di Milano reflects on the forms of contemporary discomfort.
The FrancoAngeli Academy finally addresses peripheries, rights, pedagogy and schooling in prison, with laboratories also focused on printing and writing.
BookCity for the Social Sector
BookCity for the Social Sector 2026 involves, as always, a widespread network of urban spaces – prisons, hospitals, reception houses, condominium and community libraries and Houses of associations and volunteering – that open their doors to the public to promote inclusion, reading and dialogue. In Milan’s prisons (San Vittore, Opera, Bollate, ICAM and Beccaria) there will be discussions about books, writing and theater as tools of freedom and reintegration.
The theme of prison will also be addressed in events outside detention facilities: at the Palazzo di Giustizia, at the Vita Felice center, at Centro Pime, at the Municipal Public Prosecutor’s Office of Milan, at the Radio Popolare Auditorium, and at the Associazione Bambini senza sbarre headquarters. In hospitals and health facilities of the Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, of the Gruppo San Donato, at Niguarda, at San Carlo, the Red Cross and the Presidio di Corso Plebisciti 6, reading and writing become practices of care and sharing through meetings, read-aloud sessions, and workshops open to patients and citizens.
In the spaces of welcome – from Casa Jannacci to Casa della Carità, from the Solidarity Restaurant Ruben to Girevole di San Fedele, from Trivulzio to La Ronda Solidale – reflections, performances, and concerts reflect on margins, on contemporary challenges faced by profit and non-profit organizations, on therapeutic writing, and on stories that heal.
The Houses of Associations and Volunteer Centers in Municipalities 1, 2, 3, 8 and 9 offer workshops, exhibitions and shows within the framework of “one city, many centers,” while the Condominium and Proximity Libraries, born from citizen engagement, provide meetings and readings in Milan’s neighborhoods.
The Nighttime Mobile Patrol travels around during BookCity Milano to distribute the night, along with essential goods, including books, to people without a fixed address.
BookCity for Schools
BookCity for Schools returns with a program of “projects that place reading at the center as a shared experience, a language of freedom and a tool to understand the present, with many novelties.” For the 2026 edition, the program includes 102 projects with 400 classes enrolled, organized around various thematic areas that touch the most current and pressing topics.
In the competition The Sense on the Moon students are protagonists both as members of the jury and as contestants: a first reading will be carried out by participants in BookCity for Generation Z, the School-Work Training project for upper secondary schools of BookCity Milano. This year, in addition to the BCZ day, they will also undertake an initial selection of the contest texts and design the prize ceremony to take place on November 25 at the National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo da Vinci. From the shortlisted ten, a jury of two Italian writers and the Internazionale Kids editorial team will choose the winning texts for the secondary categories of first and second grade, and for a special prize that will include publication on the magazine’s website.
A Focus on Primo Levi
Within BookCity All Year, there will be a dedicated path on Primo Levi, forty years after his passing and eighty since the publication of If This Is a Man, in collaboration with Einaudi and with the International Center for Primo Levi Studies and the participation of ten secondary school classes. The book at the center of the path is Mi interessa la gente perché ne faccio parte. Dialoghi con le scuole, curated by Fabio Levi, a volume collecting sixty-two exchanges of the writer with students and teachers across Italy, testifying to Levi’s direct relationship with the school world.
#BCM26 in Como, Cremona, Lodi, Monza, Pavia, Sondrio and Varese
BookCity Milano continues to grow into the Lombard provinces, reaching also Varese, added to the distributed program in the cities of Como, Cremona, Lodi, Monza, Pavia and Sondrio during the festival week, involving historic venues, squares, public spaces and libraries and strengthening the cultural dialogue between Milan and other cities of the Region.
The full program is available at bookcitymilano.it.
