"The white nights" at sunset, Rome reads Dostoevsky with Baricco tonight

Read ‘The White Nights’ by Dostoevsky, today at 8.47pm – exact time of sunset – in 300 places of Roma. A choral and widespread reading that will be felt from some iconic places of the city, such as the Ara Pacis, Villa Torlonia or Piazza del Campidoglio, to the most remote streets and alleys.

In the hour in which the sun concludes its day, readers will meet to give life to ‘The silent storm‘, project wanted by Alessandro Baricco – famous writer for books such as ‘Novecento’, ‘Oceano mare’, ‘Seta’ – promoted and produced by Roma Capitale.

Appointment and methods

Appointment on June 17th at 8.47pm to read the same book together, at the same time, in a ritual of collective participation that has no precedent in national history. The 300 places, where these shared readings will be held, spontaneously joined the seven main locations; each of these spaces represents the response of the Romans to the great trigger of Baricco.

The main offices

Reservations at the first six main locations immediately went beyond all expectations, convincing the Department of Culture to identify a further institutional location, increasing by one the number of symbolic locations of Rome Capital involved: at Palatine StadiumAra Pacis, Villa Torlonia, Testaccio Slaughterhouse, Rome Opera House and Piazza del Campidoglio, lastly the Casa del Jazz was added.

Reading progress

The writer will be present at the Palatine Stadium and will read the first pages of ‘The white nights‘ by Fyodor Dostoevsky, then everyone will be free to continue reading at their own pace, but all guided by a carpet of sound. She will then be the actress Isabella Ragonese to conclude the reading from the stage, while the music from the DJ set will play to close the evening. Everything that happens at the Palatine will be shared with a streaming link for all the locations, making Rome one great theater: 300 places, thousands of people who will listen and participate in a powerful gesture, as strong as peace.

Distribution of books

Given the extraordinary participation of the city, 25,000 copies of the book were printed and distributed free of charge to the participants, also thanks to the Rome Libraries Institution, which made real collection points available in the many municipalities.

Meeting with the participants

Yesterday morning Alessandro Baricco wanted to meet some of the many people who gave life to the 300 ‘little storms’ in the city, delivering the copies of the book necessary for tonight’s reading. A response from the city full of enthusiasm which celebrates the importance of reading as a “mild gesture par excellence, a gentle and peaceful gesture” which “when practiced in community it is possible to experience and generate a storm of great intensity, silent, almost invisible, but endowed with a rare strength. Today more precious and necessary than ever”.

The institutional commentary

“In these hours – he declares Massimiliano Smerigliocouncilor for culture and coordination of initiatives related to Remembrance Day – we are still receiving requests to participate and we are trying to guide people in aggregating at the places, of which there are hundreds, who have spontaneously joined, given that the other institutional spaces are sold out. This is the response of the city, of the people, to the desire to be there, to participate and to do something simple like reading together, to make an individual gesture collective. The credit for this initiative must be given back to the Romans, who have understood the spirit of our proposal and want to dedicate an evening of awareness and well-being with a common ritual, to be carried out in public and non-public spaces”.

Baricco’s words

“The more the storm grows, the more I am reminded of the first line of Dostoevsky’s book: ‘It was a wonderful night, one of those nights that can only exist when we are young'” Baricco underlines.

Opening of the summer season

‘The Silent Storm’ will officially open the summer events season of the Palatine Stadium which will continue with Literature – International Festival of Rome, from 19 to 21 June. The initiative is promoted and supported by the Department of Culture and the coordination of initiatives related to the Day of Remembrance of Rome Capital, with the coordination of the Cultural Activities Department, the organizational coordination of Zètema Progetto Cultura, in collaboration with the Archaeological Park of the Colosseum, the Library Institution of Rome, the Mattatoio Foundation, the Teatro dell’Opera Foundation of Rome, the Capitoline Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, the Municipalities. With the support of SIAE – Italian Society of Authors and Publishers. Media Partner RAI RADIO 3.