Pordenonelegge: the book as an instrument of freedom and civic values

The 27th edition of Pordenonelegge will be a special edition, opened by the writer and essayist Salman Rushdie on Wednesday 16 September and closed on 20 September by the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella. The closing ceremony will mark the city’s journey towards its role as Italian Capital of Culture. As Michelangelo Agrusti, President of the Pordenonelegge.it Foundation, explains, ‘President Mattarella’s in-person attendance, as part of an ideal countdown to 2027 when Pordenone will be the Italian Capital of Culture, demonstrates his commitment to the values that Pordenonelegge has sought to embody over the years, giving substance and tangible meaning to its new name, the Festival of Books and Freedom, to emphasise the indissoluble link between writing, reading and democracy’. “‘Reading is about freedom,’ President Mattarella explained in the message of greeting he sent to Pordenonelegge last year,” recalls Agrusti, “emphasising that “reading is a personal asset that enhances the value of the whole community, an antidote that fosters judgement and a critical spirit against indifference and the tendency to conform”. “We are grateful to President Mattarella for this visit, which honours us, moves us and, above all, motivates us to continue our commitment to promoting books as a tool for freedom and civic values.” “It is precisely for this reason that, at the heart of the 2026 edition, we will ‘place the new Dissensio Arena space, a forum designed to give prominence to dissenting voices silenced by regimes or persecuted by fanaticism’,” continues Agrusti. Among others expected to attend the event are Alexei Navalny’s wife, Yulia Navalnaya, and Anna Politkovskaya’s daughter, Vera.

Furthermore, at Pordenonelegge 2026, the Arena Europa returns, having become a defining feature of the festival for debating the major challenges of our time. At the presentation in Milan, attended by local institutions and in the presence of Fabio Tamburini, editor-in-chief of *Il Sole 24 Ore*, and Antonio Calabrò, President of Museimpresa and the Assolombarda Foundation, Agrusti emphasised that ‘it will be right at the heart of Europe, in Prague – a symbol of active resilience for freedom and culture through the Velvet Revolution of ’89 – that the 27th edition of Pordenonelegge will officially draw to a close’. Tamburini recalled that “as a Group, we have built up an event over recent years that has given us great satisfaction and in which Agrusti has also participated: the Trento Economics Festival. I could describe Pordenonelegge – even though I’m speaking as an outsider – as an extraordinary opportunity for participation. We have reached 45,000 participants; when I hear from Agrusti that Pordenonelegge has 160,000, I must confess to feeling a great deal of envy. This is a country – indeed, a world – that needs to read more, and so long live every initiative that makes a contribution, such as the Pordenonelegge festival.”

The festival will feature over 650 international voices from the worlds of literature, poetry and thought, who will be in this Friulian city to reflect on our times: five days and 350 events across 50 venues in the city and throughout Friuli-Venezia Giulia. It would be impossible to list them all, as artistic director Gian Mario Villalta jokingly remarked: ‘All the big names are here; perhaps it would be quicker to say who isn’t.’

The festival is one of the major events dedicated to poetry and, this year in particular, it will host Michel Houellebecq, who will present his collection *Omnia poetica*, featuring verses that explore desire, loneliness and disillusionment. The sixth edition of the Saba Poetry Prize – organised by the Municipality of Trieste and the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region – will also be celebrated; last year’s winner was Patrizia Valduga.

Pordenonelegge, Festival of Books and Freedom, is organised by the Pordenonelegge.it Foundation – chaired by Michelangelo Agrusti and directed by Michela Zin – and curated by Gian Mario Villalta (artistic director), Alberto Garlini and Valentina Gasparet. Together, they explain that this ‘27th edition takes place at a time marked by pressing questions. The conflicts that continue to wound the world, the technological transformations that multiply humanity’s possibilities whilst at the same time questioning its identity, and the ever-growing need to find words, ideas and tools to make sense of a present in constant flux. In this context, culture is not a refuge, but a compass: a place where ancient thoughts and new visions can meet, clash and illuminate one another. Pordenonelegge once again presents itself as a space open to this energy: an observatory on the tensions and hopes of our time, on the anxieties that run through it and on the creative forces that animate it. The aim is to foster a shared awareness, capable of nurturing a more engaged, curious and responsible citizenry. Because the future, even when it seems uncertain, always begins with a conversation, a page, a word shared amongst us.”