Ratatà Festival returns to Macerata with focus on diversity and community

After a series of violent incidents that brought Macerata to national headlines—including the brutal murder of a young woman and a subsequent racist rampage—the city is turning to culture to restore its image. The fifth edition of Ratatà Festival, dedicated to comics, illustration, and independent publishing, will take place from April 12 to 15, 2018, in the historic center. The event features exhibitions, meetings, parties, and a market show with over 100 independent authors, collectives, and publishers from around the world. This year's theme emphasizes diversity as a positive value for community growth and collective rebirth. Organizers Nicola Alessandrini, Lisa Gelli, and Enrico Fiammelli describe the festival as a gathering of isolated identities becoming a single body, an auto-da-fé stripped of religious punishment and guilt, redirecting faith toward humanity. Alessandrini notes that the recent events in Macerata are a symptom of a long-standing cultural war, and the festival's role is to bring this conflict to light through open dialogue and a plurality of languages. The festival aims to engage with the local socio-cultural context, offering new topics for reflection. Growing over the years through the work of organizers and volunteers, Ratatà Festival now expands internationally with guests and events throughout the city while maintaining its independent identity.