Four arrived today, the last one will arrive in the next few days. They don't know what awaits them, but they brought what they need most: a pen, a notebook, and a lot of curiosity.
Their task will be to describe, in the form of a story, the place they will inhabit for a week, which was assigned to them by chance. The stories, collected in a volume already titled "Literary Places Sardinia 2025," will be published by Arkadia and presented this spring at the Turin Book Fair. Gianmarco Murru, president of the cultural association "Mediterranea" and editor of the publication "Mediterraneaonline.eu," and Giulio Pisano, editor of the literary agency EditReal, entrust the discovery of Sardinian villages and towns off the beaten path to the art of storytelling. "Literary Places" is their idea, already tested with some success in two other Italian regions: Piedmont and Veneto.
While waiting for Massimo Granchi (originally from Cagliari, now living in Tuscany), who will arrive in Tratalias in a few days, Andrea Alba (a teacher from Turin) is already in Senorbì, as are his colleagues: Anna Bertini (author of novels and poems) in Buggerru, Marisa Salabelle (from Cagliari who has lived in Pistoia for many years) in Meana Sardo, and Massimiliano Scudeletti from Florence in Castiadas.
The five writers, welcomed with all due honors by the authorities of the town to which they have been paired, in the manner of anthropologists, will frequent the community, drawing inspiration from daily chatter, from walks, from participation in rites and ceremonies, and from conviviality.
As Murru explains, "the goal is to regenerate these places, to introduce them through literature to travelers seeking experiences related to cultural, sustainable, and slow tourism, but above all to foster meetings between administrators to create a network of literary towns."
The isolation and loneliness experienced by many Sardinian towns can be alleviated through the opportunities for unexpected exchange and encounters offered by literary residencies. Furthermore, being told by foreigners, seeing a place for the first time, can reawaken pride in oneself and one's history, the desire to care for it, and the energy to initiate positive change and growth. "Ours," explains Giulio Pisano, "is a journey into an Italy that is invisible yet so rich in beauty. A small Grand Tour that has already held and will hold even more surprises." In previous editions, thanks to the initiative, some have taken up residence in the town, while others have built deep friendships that often lead them back. In short, "Literary Places" is also a way of conceiving tourism as an experience of mutual transformation, very different from the usual "hit-and-run" experience.
The five writers agree: while Bertini admits that it was books themselves that sparked her attraction to certain places and the emotions she associates with them, Salabelle confesses her predilection for small, more intimate towns; finally, Alba declares that it is the context itself that triggers the narrative, what sparks the inner reflection that takes shape in a work.
The project's positive cultural and economic impact was emphasized by the same administrators present at the press conference at the Banco di Sardegna Foundation in Cagliari: Sonia Mascia, Councilor for Culture; Antonello Erriu, President of the Pro Loco; and Elisabetta Frau, Director of the Archaeological Museum, all from Senorbì; Milena Pisu, Councilor for Culture for Meana Sardo; and Vittorio Facchinetti, President of the "Viviamo Buggerru" association.
