“You cannot extinguish a fire— / a burning object / may go out on its own without a fan / on the mildest night—”*. Emily Dickinson writes of a fire that engulfs the most authentic feelings of the human soul, an unstoppable blaze that possesses a force of its own: it is the spark of emotions, of passion, of artistic genius, of vitality, but also of the pain that burns in silence.

And it is precisely the word “fire” that serves as the central theme of the 23rd edition of the Festival della Mente, the first European festival dedicated to creativity and the birth of ideas. A sacred element par excellence, the bringer of life and death, a symbol of purification and destruction, fire—which will be explored in Sarzana in all its many meanings—is a prism that reflects the festival’s multidisciplinary nature and, at the same time, the Zeitgeist of a complex and difficult-to-define era.

Among the must-see events in this tenth edition are those featuring Matteo Nucci and Melania Gaia Mazzucco.

The complete program is available on this page.