Italian cultural events highlight literature and gothic theater

Various cultural and literary events are taking place across Italy. In Cava de’ Tirreni, the Cava Book Fest is being held from September 4 to 6 at the San Francesco and Sant’Antonio cloister. The festival features approximately thirty publishing houses and includes a national literary competition. Kristine Maria Rapino is a finalist for the competition with her novel ‘Scialacca’, a story set in Abruzzo centered on themes of family and redemption. The jury for the competition is presided over by writer and screenwriter Maurizio De Giovanni.

In San Nicola Arcella, the Fadù collective will present a theatrical adaptation of Francis Marion Crawford’s 1905 gothic tale ‘For the Blood is the Life’ (known in Italy as ‘Perché il sangue è vita’). The performance is set to take place at the Belvedere ‘A Villa’ on August 29, 2026. The story is deeply connected to the local landscape, as the American author was famously inspired by the town’s 16th-century tower when writing his supernatural fiction.