On September 19, 1986, exactly one year after Italo Calvino’s untimely death, the following essay, prefaced by the renowned Italianist Vittore Branca, was published in the Corriere della sera. In it, the great writer reflects on the prospects for and effects of automatic writing. Right before he fell ill, Calvino had agreed to give the inaugural lecture for the 27th International Seminar on Advanced Culture at the Fondazione Cini on the topic of “Fantastic Universes.”…
 
Read more

My latest book, entitled Storia rapida della velocità, was published in May 2025 by the Milanese publishing house Il Saggiatore. It proposes a deep and panoramic history of the human fascination with speed: an “anthropology of speed” as it were that travels across epochs as well as imaginings, technologies, narratives, and neuroscience. For the moment, the book exists only in Italian, but editions in other languages, including English, are likely to follow. It was awarded…
 
Read more