The third edition of the «Lorenzo Calogero» Poetry Festival was established as an epochal event, capable of transforming the Aspromonte village into a vibrant epicenter of culture, experimentation and beauty. Under the visionary guidance of the director and publisher Nino Cannatà and with the impetus of Lyriks Edizioni, the event achieved its objective: to give Lorenzo Calogero back the place he rightfully deserves in the firmament of European literature, giving life to a permanent laboratory of thought where poetry, music, art, philosophy and landscape have merged in a fruitful and unforgettable embrace.
The heart of the festival was the dialogue between the genius of Calogero and the most authoritative voices of contemporary literature. Among the moments of pure magic, the expansion of the «Viale dei Canti» designed by Giuseppe Caccavale Studio which enriched the open-air museum of Melicuccà with the works of Giuseppe Fantino, establishing an indissoluble link between the words of Calogero and the power of the visual arts. The extraordinary participation of giants such as Milo De Angelis and the Pulitzer Prize-winning American poet Jorie Graham raised the debate to international heights, offering profound reflections on the archetype of the journey and the return, while the critical density was guaranteed by the contribution of excellent scholars such as Marina Valensise, Daniela Marcheschi, Andrea Cortellessa, Paolo Rigo, and by Luigi Tassoni’s essays on «Gli infiniti di Lorenzo Calogero».
In addition to the precious reflections of Mario Caligiuri, the poetic interventions of the 2026 Alfredo Panetta Flaiano Poetry Award, of John Taylor, Franca Mancinelli, Marcello Sambati, the 2026 edition will also remain for the moving tributes to two unforgettable masters. The figure of Plinio Perilli has been celebrated as that of a critical beacon, capable of illuminating the modern tragedy of Calogero’s poetry. Even more emotional was the homage to Giancarlo Cauteruccio, a pillar of the research theater who passed away last January: the Artist’s Residence in Palazzo Capua was named after him, which has become a pulsating symbol of the festival, while the evening event «The poet of light» was transformed into a choral embrace that celebrated his human and artistic legacy with rare intensity.
Innovation was the driving force of the event: music became the absolute protagonist with the world premiere of «Aereo sono odi nel spazio» by maestro Andrea F. Calabrese, a work commissioned by the festival, born from an unpublished fragment by Calogero; At the same time, the «Alta Gola» project has opened unexplored routes between classical epic and electronic avant-garde. There was no shortage of space for the rediscovery of Calabrian roots, with tributes to Alba Florio and Franco Costabile, and the celebration of Gian Giacomo Menon, “Calogero’s twin”, in a mosaic of voices that testified to the inexhaustible richness of our land.
The event has also invested in the new generations thanks to the synergy with the Junior Poetry Festival, transforming Melicuccà into a hotbed of creativity for young poets and will not end with the Calabrian days: next autumn some initiatives dedicated to Lorenzo Calogero are planned with the support of the Viterbo Consortium Library to continue to proudly reiterate that the poetic word is an act of absolute truth.
This edition, strongly supported by the Municipality of Melicuccà, the Calabria Region, the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria and the Leonardo Sinisgalli Foundation, did not limit itself to celebrating poetry: it left an indelible mark, a luminous imprint that will continue to shine for the community but also in the entire national literary panorama.
