Anniversaries to remember: Franco Fortini

On the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the death of Franco Fortini (Florence 1917 – Milan 1994), Enrico Crispolti and Marcello Ciccuto highlight the lesser-known aspects of the activity of one of the greatest intellectuals of the second twentieth century. From a young age Fortini devoted himself to painting and drawing, and indeed until his university years – he graduated with a thesis on Rosso Fiorentino, Mario Salmi’s speaker – he was uncertain on the path to take, between literature and art. On the other hand, rich and numerous are in his poetic and nonfiction references to figurative art, a constant source of inspiration and reference.

During the conference will be exposed three paintings from the Fortini Archive of the University of Siena. The initiative is part of a wide program of events dedicated to Fortini. Memorie per dopo domani is the title chosen by Franco Fortini for a short collection of his writings published in Siena in 1984. That title, thirty years later and on the twentieth anniversary of Fortini’s death, gives its name to a series of cultural initiatives aimed at investigating his work in its various aspects, known and less known.