SoLL Event: Eccellenze italiane. Figure per Italo Calvino – Italian Excellence. Illustrations for Italo Calvino
The Italian Studies Program, together with the Italian Cultural Institute of Melbourne and Archives and Special Collections at the University of Melbourne, has organised an exhibition to celebrate the centenary of the birth of Italo Calvino (1923-1985), one of the greatest Italian writers of the 20th century.
The exhibition is on display in the Baillieu Library, in the main study area of the first floor and on the stairwell of the third floor. It will be open until 30th November 2023.
Valeria spoke with Elisabetta Ferrari, organiser of the exhibition.
Valeria Morelli
***
Thank you, Elisabetta, for taking the time to speak with me. Can you tell us more about the exhibition and how the project came to life?
This year is the centenary of the birth of the great twentieth-century Italian writer, Italo Calvino (1923-1985). The Italian Studies Program wanted to mark this centenary in some way and, fortunately, we were able to organise this exhibition, together with the Italian Cultural Institute of Melbourne and Archives and Special Collections at the University of Melbourne.
The exhibition, Eccellenze italiane. Figure per Italo Calvino – Italian Excellence. Illustrations for Italo Calvino, is part of various initiatives to pay homage to this great writer around the world, with the support of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation together with the Emilia-Romagna Region. The exhibition showcases a selection of images by established Italian and international illustrators, who have interpreted, through their drawings, the whimsical world of some of Calvino’s works. Calvino’s writing is highly imaginative and visual, and this display of drawings captures this important aspect of his narrative.
I like that the illustrations are exhibited in the library study spaces, rather than in a separate exposition space. What was the reason behind this decision?
The decision to display these illustrations in the library, and especially in a busy study area, was for me central to the exhibition’s concept. The reader is certainly at the centre of Calvino’s works, as he affirmed “entertaining readers, or at least not boring them, is my first and binding social duty” (1985). Calvino is an author loved by students and his narrative has a visual playfulness at its core. We wanted the exhibition to inspire students as they spend time in the library, reading, studying and navigating through their academic journey. We hope that Calvino’s inventiveness and imagination can be as much of an inspiration to our students as it has been to the various illustrators that have turned his words into images.
What’s the importance of Italo Calvino today?
Calvino is one of the most important Italian writers of the twentieth century and is certainly the most versatile and international of that period, with a body of works that encompasses fiction and non-fiction. Through his works he has narrated and commented on the recent history of Italy (from the post-war resistance to the economic miracle of the ‘60s), while also experimenting with language and narrative structure in his later years. Calvino is an author who has merged in his novels and short stories reality, fantasy, epics and a love of science and mathematical structure. I think that above all, Calvino has been able to comment on very important philosophical and pressing issues that still resonate in our current society, while also keeping imagination and fantasy core elements of his work.
Can you give us an example?
I would say the novel Invisible Cities (Le città invisibili) (1972). If you would like to read a short passage on a relevant current topic, I suggest the description that Marco Polo makes of the imaginary city of ‘Leonia’ to Kublai Khan. Calvino’s ironic depiction of waste and environmental sustainability resonates more than ever with today’s readers.
If someone were to read Calvino for the first time, which one of his works would you recommend starting with?
I would suggest beginning with the trilogy Our Ancestors (I nostri antenati) and, in particular, with the novel within that trilogy The Baron in the Trees (Il barone rampante) (1957). This is a fantastical novel that follows the story of a stubborn boy, Cosimo, who would rather live in a tree than eat the unappetizing meal of snails which he is served for dinner by his family. As the reader follows Cosimo’s unconventional journey through life, it is also an opportunity to encounter an array of characters with a penchant for literature and philosophy. Above all, for me, this is a story that tells us that in life there is always a different point of view we can adopt and differences that should be celebrated.
Thank you, Elisabetta, for speaking with me and I hope as many people as possible will enjoy this wonderful exhibition!
Thank you, Valeria.