Calici di libri - Chiacchiere letterarie al calice

The APS Onde Culturali returns to unite culture and winemaking. After the successful experiment launched during last year's San Martino edition, the Putignano association is preparing for the debut of the new series “Calici di libri – literary chats over a glass.”

The project will be structured into two events – one in July and the other in September – with literary presentations hosted in local wineries. The protagonists of the event will be local and national authors from Puglia, in an initiative created to promote reading, social interactions, gastronomic excellence, and the talents of our region.

The series will kick off on Friday, July 24 at Giovanni Aiello – Enologist for Love winery in S.C. Cacciottoli, Putignano (Bari):

At 7:00 PM, lawyer Lella Ruccia, Equality Advisor for the Puglia Region, will engage in a dialogue with Anna Capra, author of La ragazza dagli occhi grandi (The Girl with Big Eyes) (Etabeta, 2025).

At 8:00 PM, television and theater director Luigi Taccone will talk with Elvio Carrieri, a young author of Poveri a Noi (Poor Us) (Ventanas, 2024) and candidate for the Premio Strega 2025 as well as winner of the Premio Giorgione Giovani 2025.

During the evening, attendees will have the opportunity to taste the wine from Giovanni Aiello – Enologist for Love along with some tarallini, generously offered by Dolce Bontà.

“Calici di libri takes us back to beloved places: the wineries. – declares Luca Laurenzano, President of APS Onde Culturali - Our association was born following the footsteps of San Martino, our main event, which focuses on wine. In the last edition, we paired wine with works of art. Wine, a symbol of cosmopolitanism, with culture. We noticed how, contrary to some expectations, it could be a winning choice. We return to propose this natural synergy created thanks to the sensitivity of Giovanni Aiello, the support of Dolce Bontà, and the availability of our exceptional guests and authors.
The event on Friday, July 24, will be a high-quality debut that will allow us to highlight young talents like Elvio Carrieri and to revisit discussions on gender violence with Anna Capra. All of this thanks to the ideas and voluntary commitment of the adventure companions of the association, whom I thank.”

So, mark your calendars for Friday, July 24 at 7:00 PM at Cantine Giovanni Aiello – Enologist for Love for the first day of Calici di Libri.
Access will be free and open to the public.


OTHER USEFUL INFORMATION

APS Onde Culturali
Founded in 2024 and presided over by Luca Laurenzano (class of 2002), the APS Onde Culturali organizes the famous Festa di San Martino each year. The APS is distinguished by its social and civic engagement through debates (such as discussions on the Middle East), active participation in the "Memory Train" project, solidarity initiatives like "San Martino Inclusivo," and theatrical productions (including the play "Io c'ero" for the Day of Remembrance 2026).
In its brief history, the Association has collaborated with various public and private institutions, also in the field of education, as well as third-sector entities at the municipal, regional, and national levels.

Biographies of the authors and synopses of the works

Anna Capra is the president of A.N.I.S. Regione Puglia APS, an association committed to safeguarding the rights of people with disabilities, promoting social and work inclusion, and implementing projects aimed at vulnerable individuals. For her unwavering commitment to social issues and her contributions to the protection of vulnerable people, she received the National Award "Peschereccio d’Oro" - Section on Social Policies and Protection of Vulnerable People, a prestigious recognition sponsored by the Chamber of Deputies, also awarded for the cultural and social value of the book La ragazza dagli occhi grandi.

Synopsis – La ragazza dagli occhi grandi
Elena is twenty years old, with two big eyes full of dreams and a heart that desires only to be loved. Sensitive, determined, and thirsty for life, she believes that by committing herself and becoming the best version of herself, she will finally win the love and recognition she has always sought. When she meets an older, charming, and self-assured man, she thinks she has found someone who can truly understand her. He listens to her, values her, makes her feel special. His words seem to fill every void, until he becomes the center of her universe. But what appears to be a great love slowly turns into an invisible prison. Attention becomes control, advice turns into judgment, silences into punishments, requests into continuous renunciations. Unknowingly, Elena stops recognizing herself, trapped in a relationship marked by emotional manipulation and affective dependency. There are no bruises on her body, but deep wounds that scar her soul. This is psychological violence, the kind that leaves no obvious evidence but slowly destroys a woman's self-esteem, freedom, and identity. Only by facing the pain, learning to listen to her own voice, and rediscovering her story through writing, will Elena begin a difficult journey of rebirth. She will realize that true courage is not about enduring at all costs, but choosing to save oneself. And that authentic love does not demand perfection, because no one should change themselves to feel worthy of being loved. La ragazza dagli occhi grandi is an intense autobiographical coming-of-age and rebirth novel that gives voice to one of the most silent forms of gender violence. A story of pain, awareness, and hope, capable of reminding us that even from the deepest wounds, new freedom can arise.

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Elvio Carrieri (Bari, 2004) is a writer, poet, and musician. His debut novel Poveri a noi (Poor Us) (Ventanas, 2024) reached the finalist dozen of the Premio Strega 2025, making him the youngest candidate in the award's history; he also won the Premio Giorgione under35 and has been translated into France, Canada, and Switzerland. As a poet, he won the national Niccolò Bizzarri Competition (2023) and is the curator of the poetry collection Sguardi diversi sulla poesia in Puglia (Cacucci, 2025). His poems and prose have appeared in magazines and newspapers since he was fifteen. He studies at the University of Bari and is the guitarist and author in the Bari rock band Winstoned.

Synopsis – Poveri a Noi
In the courtyard of a middle school in the outskirts of Bari, a student is brutally beaten by a classmate and hospitalized in critical condition. Just a few meters away, a helpless boy observes the scene. Almost twenty years go by. In the meantime, after that tragic moment, Plinio (the victim) and Libero (the passive witness to the beating) have become friends. A friendship based on mutual protection. But when Libero, a teacher in a prison, meets Letizia, a psychologist from the Valle d’Itria, his relationship with Plinio changes. Against the backdrop of a city, Bari, now cynically reduced to its skeletal, post-industrial soul, tormented by local scandals and shady political maneuvers, there is no drama that the three young urban figures cannot exorcise. No matter how much pain is at stake.
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