Pavese Festival - S. Stefano Belbo (CN)

Santo Stefano Belbo

"As he spoke, I could see Gaminella in my face, which at that height seemed even bigger, a hill like a planet, and from here I could see plains, small trees, little streets that I had never seen. One day, I thought, we must go up there. This too is part of the world.” (La luna e i falò – The moon and the bonfires). Anguilla, the protagonist of this masterpiece, had actually left Santo Stefano Belbo to go and discover that world, which, however, would never satisfy his anxieties and his need to regain a sense of belonging and identity.A real village, a microcosm, rural life, the smells and colours of the hills that this famous writer, born in Santo Stefano Belbo in 1908, never forgot and that often appear in his great novels. And it is right in the shadow of Gaminella, looking at the Salto hill, in the streets and squares of this last stretch of Langa that every year men and women of culture gather to pay tribute to the most prestigious son of these hills: Cesare Pavese.

An almost due act, a tribute to an illustrious son, which involves the entire community, first and foremost the Cesare Pavese Foundation, which promotes, enhances and spreads the human and cultural heritage of the great Piedmontese author: each year the hills become the stage for a key festival dedicated to the writer who best portrayed, in great detail, the harshness and at the same time the beauty of these places. Four days focused on cultural events, debates, poetry and prose readings, concerts and exhibitions, during which renowned artists will take turns to interpret and discuss his thoughts and themes. Moments to be experienced in full with dedication and passion because, as Pavese wrote, " you don't remember the days, you remember the moments".