Alassio 1985. Un incontro su Carlo Levi: Ricordi, testimonianze, prospettive critiche

The Fondo Carlo Levi, housed in the Alassio Library “Renzo Deaglio”, preserves transcripts of speeches recorded from April 20 to 22, 1985, during the Carlo Levi scrittore conference organized by the Fondazione Carlo Levi on the tenth anniversary of Levi's death. This 156-page booklet captures the “memoirs” of friends who accompanied Levi throughout his life – such as Giulio Einaudi, Natalia Ginzburg, Manlio Cancogni, and Giovanni Russo – as well as contributions from a younger generation of readers and scholars. Through an overview of these unpublished typescripts, this paper traces key moments from the conference that offer fresh insights into Levi's life, including his time in the “maternal” town of Alassio, his years in Florence (1943–1945), and his return to Lucania for the 1946 election campaign. Among the most compelling contributions, Cancogni discusses the genesis of L’Orologio, while Russo explores the reception of Cristo si è fermato a Eboli. Additionally, several scholars, including Luisa Orioli, Gigliola De Donato, Lorenzo Mondo, and Carlo Caltagirone, analyzed Levi's posthumous book, Quaderno a cancelli, examining a text not yet fully integrated into scholarly debate at the time.