by InTrieste
A youth literature workshop inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings is set to begin on December 4 at the Salone degli Incanti in Trieste. The program, part of the municipal reading initiative “L’Officina della lettura,” is funded by Italy’s Center for Books and Reading (CEPELL) through the 2024 “Città che legge” grant.
Led by scholar Claudia Giordani, the workshop will guide participants ages 14 to 18 through Tolkien’s trilogy, pairing literary analysis with personal reflection. Organizers say the course aims to explore how themes such as friendship, courage and responsibility resonate with contemporary readers, encouraging young participants to consider literature as a means of examining their own inner lives. Through discussion, character study and shared reading, attendees will be invited to reflect on their own symbolic “journey” and the challenges and roles they identify with in the story.
The workshop consists of five sessions, each two hours long, taking place from 4 to 6 p.m. on the following dates:
- Tuesday, November 4
- Tuesday, November 11
- Tuesday, November 25
- Thursday, December 4
- Thursday, December 11
Sessions will be held at the Salone degli Incanti. Admission is free, but registration is required by emailing pattoperlalettura@comune.trieste.it or calling +39 040 675 8890.
Giordani is a member of the Italian Society for the History of Religions and the author of several works on early Christianity, including Il cristianesimo egiziano di Aquileia (2020) and Croce e caduceo (2024). Her forthcoming book, Le origini nascoste della Terra di Mezzo. J.R.R. Tolkien e l’inconscio, co-authored with Luigi Zumbo, examines psychological themes in Tolkien’s mythological universe.
