La Storia in Piazza (15th ed.) at Palazzo Ducale — Program and Practical Info

La Storia in Piazza — 15th edition at Palazzo Ducale

From 26 to 29 March 2026 the Palazzo Ducale in Genoa hosts the 15th edition of the festival La Storia in Piazza, curated by Carlotta Sorba and Emmanuel Betta. The program includes lectures, thematic panels, school workshops and special projects exploring the relationship between nature and culture across history.

Featured program — Friday 27 March 2026

• 09:30 — Lauro Magnani: "Nature and artifice in the garden in the early modern age"
• 15:00 — Giuliano Milani: "Against Nature. Dante and medieval traditions"
• 15:00 — Francesco Cassata: "‘Atomic spaghetti’. Cold War, nuclear energy and agriculture in Italy"
• 16:00 — Benno Bastian Gammerl: "Natural, refined and other forms of queer love in contemporary Germany"
• 16:00 — Roberto Balzani: "A creature in transition. From the natural octopus to the monstrous squid"
• 17:00 — Filippo Carlà-Uhink: "Caligula, Nero, Elagabalus and others: perverse, mad or ‘posthuman’?"
• 17:00 — Valentina Valentini: Lithuania Focus: "The hardness, concreteness and truth of Eimuntas Nekrosius’s theatre"
• 17:00 — Matteo Battistini, Lorenzo Costaguta, Marco Mariano: "The question of race in the United States: past and present"
• 18:00 — Nicolas Guilhot: "Mendax ab initio: are conspiracy theories a natural phenomenon or a cultural condition?"
• 18:00 — Alberto De Simone: "The sense of nature, the state of nature and being in nature in Chinese culture"
• 18:00 — Andrea Griffante and Giorgio Ruggeri: Lithuania Focus: "Vilnius contested. When a city becomes ‘naturally’ part of a nation"
• 20:30 — Alessandro Barbero in conversation with Antonio Musarra: "Saint Francis" (please note: this session takes place at the Teatro Carlo Felice)

School activities and special projects

On Thursday 26 and Friday 27 March the festival runs meetings and workshops designed for schools of all levels. Additional initiatives include family activities, a playroom, hackathons and educational pathways organised with local civic museums.

Practical information

• Venue: Palazzo Ducale, Piazza Matteotti 9 — Genoa
• Dates: 26–29 March 2026
• Curators: Carlotta Sorba and Emmanuel Betta
• Collaborations: including European University Institute (EUI)
• Accessibility: the venue provides accessibility information and visitor services; check the official pages for details and updates
• Tickets and schedule: consult the Palazzo Ducale calendar for full schedules, booking procedures and any changes

Groups and school visits are encouraged to book in advance. Public sessions are aimed at a broad audience interested in history, monuments and cultural debates, as well as educators seeking topic-specific insights.