In Rome, as part of “ ,” the Trevi Fountain will become a page for one evening, and light will be the writer. On Tuesday, October 6, at dusk, starting at 9 p.m., the words of Erri De Luca will be projected onto the water and the surface of the famous Roman fountain through the artistry of Marco Nereo Rotelli, while Luca Ward’s voice will read the text written specifically for the occasion. This is the highlight of *The Word That Enlightens*(The Word That Illuminates), an initiative promoted by the Luigi Einaudi Foundation’s*Carta, Penna & Digitale* Observatory, dedicated to reading and writing in the age of digital technology and artificial intelligence. The event is open to the public and consists of two distinct parts: an afternoon discussion and an evening installation in Trevi Square.
Before words become light, the theme will be explored through the spoken word. At 6:30 p.m., in the Sala Vicus Caprarius at Harry’s Bar Trevi, the director of the “Paper, Pen & Digital” Observatory, Andrea Cangini, will discuss with Erri De Luca, Luca Ward, and Marco Nereo Rotelli the practice of handwriting in cursive and reading paper books in an era in which communication increasingly takes place through screens. The discussion will also focus on the relationship between these practices and the spread of digital technologies and artificial intelligence, along with the effects that, according to the initiative’s organizers, the overuse of social media has on young people.
The debate will thus precede the more strictly artistic part of the evening. As night falls, attention will shift to the Trevi Fountain, where writing will step off the page and into public space. At 9:00 p.m., Luca Ward will read *Appunti di un amanuense* (Notes of a Scribe), a text composed by Erri De Luca for the occasion. His voice will be accompanied by Rotelli, who will write some of the most significant phrases on an overhead projector. The words will then be projected onto the water and the surface of the fountain. The text will not, therefore, simply be reproduced through a projection: the very act of writing will form the core of the performance. The artist’s hand, the actor’s voice, and the writer’s text will converge in a performance in which the word will move from the private realm of the page to the public and monumental realm of the square.
This initiative thus aims to transform the Trevi Fountain—with its architecture and the movement of the water—into a space where this transition can be observed. The metaphor chosen for the event is that of a spring: no longer just water gushing from the fountain, but the written word, which for one evening will take shape on its surface.
The initiative is part of the research conductedby the Luigi Einaudi Foundation’s “Paper, Pen & Digital” Observatory, which has placed the relationship between traditional forms of reading and writing and the transformations brought about by technology at the center of its activities. After being explored in the meeting room, the theme is translated into an image in the urban space: a page no longer made of paper, but of light, water, and stone. This development is particularly consistent with the work of Marco Nereo Rotelli, a Venetian artist born in 1955 who earned a degree in architecture in 1982 and lives and works in Milan. Light and the poetic dimension have for years been at the heart of his artistic practice, developed through a dialogue with various disciplines and, in particular, with poetry. Throughout his career, Rotelli has in fact built a body of work in which art engages with philosophers, musicians, photographers, and filmmakers. But it is above all poetry that has progressively taken on a constant role in his work, becoming one of the tools through which he explores the relationship between word, image, and space.
Erri De Luca’s text will be made available to the public in a form very different from that of the screening: the Osservatorio Carta, Penna & Digitale will distribute “Appunti di un amanuense” free of charge—in paperback format—to event attendees while supplies last. The evening’s program will thus bring together the various elements evoked by the title: first, the spoken and discussed word; then, the word written by the artist and transformed into light; and finally, the word once again gathered in the tangible form of a small book.
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| Rome: Words by Erri De Luca will be projected onto the Trevi Fountain for one night |
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