Love Beyond the Pages

Imagine three voices intent on retrieving the signs and traits of an universal word whose meaning still escapes us: love. By questioning its origin and nature, Carolina Bondinelli, Giorgia Tolfo and Roberto Camurri, author of Splendeva l'innocenza, open the evening by chatting like old friends. Through reflections, ideas, and personal experiences, their literary influences give love a shape.

The classic idea of romantic love, exemplified by Emma Bovary, points to something passionate, idealised and yet poignant, which can nonetheless lead to suffering, isolation, and illusions. Indeed, love is often represented as a unique event, a shock that changes everything or a spell that, once cast, fundamentally alters our worlds. Eternal promises quickly fade when we realise that love is meant to be part of the human experience, without subsuming or consuming it.

But why do we think otherwise? Perhaps the answer lies in our social and political codes. In a strongly individualized society, love is still too often misunderstood as possession. We decline love in the language of economics. Yet love is something we build, that changes over time, a deeply human experience. And different from capital, even when exhausted, love's value does not depreciate. That is, if you can find books that whisper: ''Live me as a gift that is renewed''.