There is a «close relationship between forms of knowledge and narration, between specific ways of describing, judging, and interpreting the world and human actions, and the forms of literary representation of these same things» (R. Ceserani, Convergenze, Bruno Mondadori, p. 21). Italo Calvino was one of the most astute interpreters of this relationship. He was a writer defined by multi- and interdisciplinarity. Within such a framework, knowledge from various fields engages in dialogue and integrates; it undergoes rethinking and refocusing, becomes enriched, and — crucially — offers mutual support, as each discipline and art form contributes concepts and insights derived from its own unique paradigms, languages, methods, and tools.
From October 19 to 21, 2023, to mark the centenary of Italo Calvino’s birth, an international conference dedicated to the author, Calvino Looks at the World: Plurality, Cohesion, Metamorphosis, was held in Rome. The proceedings of this conference are now available (see the entry in the library catalog of Sapienza University of Rome). During the event, the author’s work was «approached and discussed from an interdisciplinary perspective, thanks to the participation of numerous literary experts, alongside scientists, historians, anthropologists, geographers, and scholars of architecture and the visual arts from various generations» (from the conference presentation).
Videos from the conference can be found on the official Italo Calvino website.
