Under the auspices of the Romania-Italy Cultural Year, the Romanian Embassy in Italy, in partnership with the Romanian Ministry of Culture, the National Library of Romania and Città metropolitana di Roma Capitale/Zona Metropolitană Roma, inaugurated on March 3, 2026 the series of events “Romanian Literature Month in Rome”, an extensive program dedicated to the promotion of contemporary Romanian literature in the Italian cultural space.
The opening event took place at the prestigious Palat Valentini, in the presence of a large audience, and had as a special guest the writer Mircea Cărtărescu, who held a conference on the role of literature in a complex contemporary context, marked by the accelerated evolution of artificial intelligence tools.
Next to the author was professor Bruno Mazzoni, reputed translator into Italian of a significant number of works belonging to contemporary Romanian writers.
The dialogue between the two offered the public a captivating foray into the universe of literary creation, from Mircea Cărtărescu’s poetic debut in the 80s to his international recognition through novels such as Solenoid, Orbitor and Theodoros. In his intervention, Mircea Cărtărescu emphasized the deeply human character of the creative act, highlighting the fact that literature implies a complex existential experience, which goes beyond the simple emulation of cognitive processes.
Pierluigi Sanna, the vice-mayor of the Metropolitan Area, and Gabriela Dancău, the Romanian ambassador to Italy, intervened in the opening of the evening, marking the official launch of this cultural marathon which, during March, will have leading Romanian writers as protagonists, including Cătălin Pavel, Matei Vișniec, Tatiana Țîbuleac and Ana Blandiana.
The red thread of this edition is the relationship between literature and artificial intelligence, a current issue and at the same time “a space for lucid reflection, where Romanian literature is present not only as heritage, but as a living voice, capable of getting involved in the major debates of the present”, as Ambassador Gabriela Dancău emphasized in the opening.
The series of events “Romanian Literature Month in Rome” will take place with free entry in emblematic cultural spaces in the center of the Italian capital, such as the Valentini Palace, the Spazio Sette Library and the Braschi Palace, facilitating the access of a diverse audience, both from the Romanian community and the Italian public interested in contemporary Romanian literature. More information here: https://roma.mae.ro/local-news/3840
Through this initiative, the Embassy of Romania in Italy reconfirms its commitment to the consolidation of the Romanian-Italian cultural dialogue and to the promotion of Romanian literature as an active presence, relevant and connected to the great themes of the present.
Photo credit: Nicu Floroaica
