Gianni Rodari 100 years, the Meridian and modernity

   A Mondadori Meridiano, events all over the world, from Rome to Hanoi, free films, reading marathons, TV and online specials. The celebrations for the centenary of the birth of Gianni Rodari, born in Omegna, on Lake Orta, on 23 October 1920, explode. Among the many publications, there are also those that show us how Rodari was not only the Collodi of the twentieth century, but a great all-round intellectual. And on the day of the birthday the celebratory postage stamp of the Italian Post Office comes out, the image of which is top secret until it is issued.

    The countdown for the 100th anniversary of the Master of Fantasy, who died in Rome on April 14, 1980, winner of the Hans Christian Andersen Prize in 1970, considered the Nobel Prize in children's literature, began in 2019 when the EL Editions, which since 1991 have published Rodari's books have inaugurated the website www.100giannirodari.com. The pandemic has turned everything upside down and many events have been converted back to streaming, but the enthusiasm is intact. The greatness of the author of 'Grammatica della fantasia', released in 1973, has never been questioned, but now he enters the Meridiani Mondadori in two volumes: Opere, edited by Daniela Marcheschi, and Rodari in colori, edited by Grazia Gotti, which traces the history of the editions of his most famous texts, embellished by the tables of artists such as Verdini, Munari, Altan and Mattotti. Over 2 thousand pages in which the writer of 'Nursery rhymes in heaven and on earth' and 'Tales on the phone' appears today in its modern and subtle complexity.

    Let's rediscover the journalist Rodari, he was among other things for 'L'Unita', the 'Pioneer' and 'Paese Sera' with Einaudi Ragazzi: the graphic novel 'I buried alive', illustrated by the award-winning Silvia Rocchi, is taken from from an article published in '52 in Vie Nuove which tells a story of trade union struggle in post-war Italy. The 'Rodari Code' also arrives, a real work of art that dialogues and applies Rodarian principles, naturally by playing, created by the illustrator Alessandro Sanna, recently awarded the Children's Laureate, that is, for two years, ambassador of Italian illustration for children in the world. A still unexplored chapter in the literary biography of Rodari - an elementary teacher for a few years, who began to publish his children's books in the 1950s, immediately achieving enormous success with audiences and critics with translations all over the world - concerns the enormous and lasting success it has had in the USSR and now in Russia. Anna Roberti, translator and honorary president of the Russkij Mir Cultural Association, investigates this in an essay in 'Cipollino nel Paese dei Soviets', which will be published on 23 October by Edizioni Lindau. Created by Gianni Rodari in the 1950s, Cipollino, born into a very poor onion family, had a good fortune in Italy, only to end up almost forgotten. In the Soviet Union, however, he became very famous and Rodari continues to be the most loved Italian writer. The book also includes partially unpublished documents and a rare interview in which Rodari said that the USSR more than other countries had fully grasped the fantastic aspect of his books.

    The enhancement of Rodari's works by Edizioni El / Einaudi Ragazzi began with the publication of 'Cento Gianni Rodari. One hundred stories and nursery rhymes. One hundred illustrators', a tribute by 100 illustrators to the Master of Fantasy and now those illustrations can be seen at the Gianni Rodari Library in Rome where they celebrate with events organized by the Libraries of Rome, the Palladium Theater and the Istituto Luce Cinecittà. On October 23 at 3 pm the live broadcast of Rodarian testimonies and readings, broadcast in streaming on the facebook page @ libraries.roma and on Mediateca Roma, will be attended by the deputy mayor of Rome, Luca Bergamo, the commissioner of Libraries of Rome, Vittorio Bo, and among others Stefano Bartezzaghi, Marco Malvaldi, Bernard Friot, Ilaria Capanna, Albertina Bollati, Lorenzo Pavolini, Claudio Bisio, Moni Ovadia and Luciana Littizzetto. Three days of conferences, lectures, workshops and performances, from 23 to 25 October also in Genoa and afternoon of celebration at Casa del Contemporanea at the Ghirelli Theater in Salerno with 'Rodari. 100 years. 1000 stories'.

    Great expectation for the return to cinemas tomorrow, in a restored version 25 years after its release, of 'La Freccia Azzurra' by Enzo D'Alò, simultaneously previewing Alice nella Città, an independent section parallel to the Rome Film Festival . Sky Arte proposes the documentary 'There was twice Gianni Rodari', broadcast tomorrow at 9.15 pm, also available in streaming on the Now TV platform, in which Neri Marcorè reads nursery rhymes, diaries, articles and letters in an enveloping scenography made entirely of paper. On LaF, on October 24th at 9.10pm, here is 'Gianni Rodari 2.0 - Space to the word', a homage film narrated by the pioneer of rap Frankie hi-nrg. And on RaiPlay the unpublished animated video clip of the song 'Il Cielo è di tutti' sung by Bungaro and Fiorella Mannoia, based on a text by Rodari, with music by Antonio Fresa.