by InTrieste
A longstanding cultural festival in Trieste is set to return with a fresh focus: the nature and meaning of power. The 14th edition of Rose Libri Musica Vino opens on Friday, May 9, in the rose garden of San Giovanni Park, and will run every Friday throughout the month.
Organized by the social cooperative Agricola Monte San Pantaleone in collaboration with the University of Trieste, the festival will feature literary discussions, musical performances, guided walks, and tastings—all centered around the festival’s central theme: What kind of power?
Set against the backdrop of a world marked by conflict and uncertainty, the organizers aim to reflect on power not as domination, but as a force for transformation. The program draws inspiration from figures like Pope Francis, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., feminist thinker Carla Lonzi, and author Italo Calvino. The rose garden, which received a Certificate of Excellence in 2015 from the World Federation of Rose Societies, serves as a symbol of this potential for change.
The opening event will feature the book Capire il populismo (Understanding Populism, UTET, 2024), edited by Petra Guasti and Mattia Zulianello. Comprising 85 essays by emerging scholars and international experts, the volume provides a new framework for understanding one of the most debated political trends of the 21st century. Zulianello, a political science professor at the University of Trieste, will be present to discuss the work.
Through art, literature, and conversation, the festival invites the public to engage with ideas of power—both visible and hidden—and to imagine alternative ways it might be exercised in today’s world.
