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The Book You’d Save: Which book would you save first if there were a fire?
From October 6 to November 13, you can participate in the first round of voting for the project that brings together theaters, bookstores, and libraries in Bergamo.
If you could save just one book from a fire, which one would you choose for our time? That is the question at the heart of The Saved Book. Just One Before the Fire , the new project sponsored by the Donizetti Theater Foundation, the Booksellers’ Fair, and the Bergamo Urban Library System. An invitation to readers, theatergoers, and citizens to reflect on the value of books, memory, and freedom of thought.
The initiative is inspired by *Il fuoco era la cura* (*Fire Was the Cure*), a performance by the Sotterraneo theater company scheduled at the Teatro Sociale on February 17 and 18 as part of the *Altri Percorsi* festival. Loosely based on Ray Bradbury’s *Fahrenheit 451*, the play evokes the image of women and men who, as books are destroyed, preserve their words in their memories, becoming books themselves.
How to Participate
The first round of voting runs from October 6 to November 13. To submit your book, you can fill out the form available on the websites of the three organizers or use the coupon on the postcard distributed at the Donizetti Theater box office, the libraries in Bergamo, and the independent bookstores participating in the Booksellers’ Fair.
The Phases of the Project
On November 27 at 6:30 p.m., at Gres Art 671, Alessandro Bergonzoni, a guest of the “Librai per un anno” series, will read the list of the 33 most-voted-for books, kicking off the second phase of voting, which will conclude on February 16.
The chosen title will be announced on February 18 at the Teatro Sociale, following the second performance of *Il fuoco era la cura*, during a meet-and-greet with the artists from Sotterraneo.
The event will culminate on April 17, during the opening of the Booksellers’ Fair: a special guest will present the book that received the most votes, and the audience will take part in a group reading, transforming the city’s choice into a collective ritual.
To participate means to become the guardians of a story and to help pass on what, through the pages of a book, we would like to leave for those who come after us.
And you, which book would you save from a fire?
