Francesco Chiamulera's Una Montagna di libri Festival in Cortina

Francesco Chiamulera founded the literary festival "Una Montagna di libri" in Cortina d'Ampezzo in 2009, inspired by Goffredo Parise and his thesis on Reagan at Sapienza University of Rome in 2008. The festival, which runs from December to April and throughout the summer, aims to create a genuine, unmediated space for dialogue between authors and readers, centered on books as the gravitational core of culture. It has hosted international figures such as Hanif Kureishi, Paolo Sorrentino, Liana Finck, Alberto Arbasino, Dacia Maraini, Alessandro Piperno, Peter Cameron, Sonallah Ibrahim, and Kathleen Skine. Events take place in intimate mountain settings—along shores, in huts, and over speck-laden tables—and often conclude with the legendary "Cremlino" cocktail at the Hotel de la Poste, where bartender Antonio Di Franco shares stories of Ernest Hemingway, Getulio Alviani, Giuseppe Santomaso, and Enrico Castellani. Chiamulera describes the festival as a place for true encounter, free from advertising and communication, where conversations range from immigration and the Middle East to poetry under starry nights. The project began with a group of willing locals and has become a reference point for Italian cultural planning.