Friday 15 September (7.00 pm – free admission), the atrium of the Castello Volante in Corigliano D’Otranto will host the first presentation of the book *La cultura non basta* by Luigi De Luca, to be published by Edizioni dell’asino, a publishing house coordinated by Goffredo Fofi. During the event, moderated by Lorenzo Madaro (art critic, curator, journalist and lecturer), the director of the Castromediano Museum in Lecce and coordinator of the Apulia Region’s library and museum networks will be in conversation with Dina Manti (mayor of Corigliano d’Otranto), Pier Giorgio Giacchè (anthropologist, writer and essayist), Francesco Maggiore (visual designer and cultural operator – Big Sur), and Loredana Capone (President of the Apulian Regional Council). The proceeds from the sale of the book will go to Huipalas, which, in Kijiji, Kenya, is nurturing the dream of a community dedicated to art and culture.
“The greatest social transformation humanity has ever experienced was the collapse of local communities, brought about by the Industrial Revolution and the advance of capitalism. The state and the market have supplanted the traditional bonds of solidarity that formed the very fabric of the community. The state, through its officials, and the market, through propaganda, have reshaped the world of needs and expectations of a humanity deprived of its ancestral points of reference and transformed into an amorphous mass.”
The cautious sheltering in our homes and behind our face masks was not enough to counter the disorientation and fear that gripped us during the recent pandemic. Having sensed the uncertainty of what the world would become, have we truly emerged better for it, as we had hoped? We lacked an antidote to isolation, a viable and sustainable vision for the human spirit, a sense of community capable of providing collective responses to expectations for the future. A book against the culture industry and the bureaucracies that fuel it, against the culture economy and the dictatorship of experts, to reclaim space for artistic practice, cultural work, and the freedom to experiment in the here and now of local contexts. It is true that culture alone is not enough, but without a genuine cultural revolution, the planet will not be saved. ‘The greatest social transformation humanity has experienced was the collapse of local communities, brought about by the Industrial Revolution and the advance of capitalism. The state and the market have supplanted the traditional bonds of solidarity that formed the basis of the community,’ writes De Luca. ‘The state, through its officials, and the market, through propaganda, have reshaped the universe of needs and expectations of a humanity deprived of its ancestral points of reference and transformed into an amorphous mass.’ After studying semiotics in Bologna, Luigi De Luca chose to return to Puglia, where he embarked on a career in public service. He has worked in the fields of theatre, cinema, museums and libraries, as well as Euro-Mediterranean cooperation. The management of cultural heritage from a perspective of territorial cooperation is the area in which his current work is focused.
During the evening (until midnight – free entry), visitors will be able to explore the ‘Visioni del Sud’ exhibition, featuring, amongst others, the exhibitions ‘La Candelora a Montevergine’ by Alessandro Gattuso, ‘Queer è Ora’ by Alessia Rollo, curated by Transparent, 73100 Gaya and Big Sur, and ‘RestartRestanze’ by Maurizio Fiorino. After the presentation, guests will also be able to take a seat on the terraces to enjoy an aperitif and sample the Nuvole menu created by chefs Andrea Mazzola and Diletta Bagordo (info and table bookings: 3343429268 – nuvole@ilcastellovolante.it).
The Castello Volante project – winner of the Apulia Region’s tender for the adaptation of tourist attractions to host live entertainment events – has been managed since 2017 by Multiservice Eco, Big Sur and Coolclub in collaboration with the Municipality of Corigliano d’Otranto.
