LETTERATURE Festival Internazionale di Roma - 21 June 2026

Now in its 25th edition and curated this year by Silvia Barbagallo and Anna Voltaggio, LETTERATURE Festival Internazionale di Roma is a historic Roman event showcasing the most important contemporary literary voices. The theme for the 2026 edition is “Sconfinare” (Crossing Boundaries), exploring the limits imposed by the body, by social roles, and by language. The evenings of 19, 20 and 21 June will take place in the majestic setting of the Palatino Stadium, within the Colosseum Archaeological Park.

The evening of 21 June has as its sub-theme “The invisible maps. The power of words” and will open with the reading of an unpublished work by the Spanish poet and novelist Manuel Vilas, followed by an interview with the French writer, screenwriter and director Emmanuel Carrère and an unpublished text by the writer and translator Veronica Raimo. Another guest of the evening will be Yuri Herrera, one of the most authoritative and original voices in contemporary Mexican fiction. The writer’s appearance on stage at the Palatino, featuring an unpublished piece and an interview, is also linked to the support of IILA, the International Italo-Latin American Organisation, with which the Festival is embarking on a new collaboration this year. The evening will end with a new piece by the Indian writer Kiran Desai and with “Sconfinare: le città invisibili e il mondo nuovo” (Crossing Boundaries: Invisible Cities and the New World), passages from Italo Calvino and Aldous Huxley read by Neri Marcorè.

Eva Giovannini will guide the audience through the two-hour literary event, weaving together the narrative thread that links the guests and the chosen themes. Gaetano Bruno will read excerpts from Emmanuel Carrère’s novel “Kolchoz”, whilst Paolo Briguglia will present the unpublished text by Yuri Herrera. The musical interludes will be provided by singer-songwriter Erica Mou.

More info on the festivaldelleletterature website and on the event’s social media channels.