The verses of the Calabrian poet Franco Costabile, often forgotten in school but also appreciated by Ungaretti and Caproni, have never stopped echoing through the streets of Lamezia Terme, where his origins are deeply rooted.
Proof of this is the event “La Rêverie degli ulivi” which has been organised for 6 years in the historic centre of Sambiase to celebrate the memory and production of the poet considered one of the greatest exponents of neorealism.
The initial promoter was the cultural movement “Dorian – culture makes you young”, directed by Giovanni Mazzei, a young writer and scholar of Costabile’s poetics. But this year, to give greater impetus to the celebrations for the centenary of the poet’s birth, the commitment of many cultural associations has been consolidated, which together have formed the Franco Costabile 100 Committee, through which literary focuses, in-depth talks, urban trekking in the poet’s places, film screenings and meetings with local schools have been promoted.
The commemoration will reach its peak on Tuesday 27 August – the poet’s birthday – at 8:30 pm, on Corso Vittorio Emanuele, with an authentic show to experience the rêverie, the “daydream” of Franco Costabile.
The evening will open with a theatrical performance by the Scenari Visibili company, which will actively and dynamically involve the historic center of San Biagio, allowing the public to perceive the evocative magic of Costabili’s verses.
The conversation with the poet Aldo Nove will follow, who will investigate the sensitivity of the poet from Sambiase, entering into the heart of human matter.
The singer-songwriter Michelangelo Mercuri, known to the general public as NaiP, and the actress Lara Chiellino will respectively perform “Ultima Uva” and “Il canto dei nuovi emigranti”, a civil anthem and spiritual testament of the poet.
During the evening full of suggestive feelings, the musical interpretations offered by Francesco Strangis and Aquerell, who have recorded a vinyl, a 45 rpm enriched by the artwork of the artist Pasquale De Sensi, with their own reinterpretations of Costabile’s poems, will also prove the actualization of Costabile’s verse.
The Rêverie degli ulivi will also be enriched by the notes of the Giorgio Caporale trio: the guitarist from Lamezia Terme, accompanied by the drummer Fabrizio La Fauci and the pianist Francesco Scaramuzzino, will give life to a multi-stylistic harmony, creating a dreamlike atmosphere, in which sound experimentation and musical refinement will lead the spectator to the center of the storytelling heart of Franco Costabile.
Thus, harmoniously combining different languages, a special tribute to one of the greatest poets of the Italian 20th century will be composed, promoted by the project curated by Music Art, financed with resources Pac 2014/2020-Az. 6.8.3. by the Calabria Region – Department of Education, Training and Equal Opportunities – Culture Sector, within the scope of the “Cultural promotion events 2024”, awaiting approval of the final ranking.
“Playing with the title of his first poetry collection, Via degli ulivi, we replaced the term “via” with “rêverie”, a concept dear to the French philosopher Gaston Bachelard, to be understood as a movement of the self, in which one leaves one’s spirit free to wander, granting it a freedom similar to that of a dream. Not a phase of sleep, but almost a daydream, which poets know how to transform into art and we will try to shape into a moment of awareness that is both literary and artistic” explains Mazzei, artistic director of the Committee, inviting everyone to participate in the great celebration in which Costabile’s poetry will open like the petals of a rose, spreading the beauty of culture.
