Massimo Giannini | The Words of Power
Beyond the Wall
Saturday, 11 October 2026 | 10:00 am | Piazza del Sole, Bellinzona
Sconfinare Festival
What happens when politics no longer limits itself to governing reality, but seeks to rename it? What happens when words such as people, homeland, freedom, enemy and truth become instruments of consensus, belonging and exclusion? Public language does not merely describe the world: it shapes its direction, simplifies it and, at times, distorts it.
Massimo Giannini, one of Italy’s most respected journalists and political commentators, has spent years observing the transformations of democracy, power and information. In his latest book,
La Sciamana. Meloni, l’ultima trumpista: fenomenologia della destra illiberale
(Rizzoli, 2026), he analyses the symbolic and communicative construction of contemporary leadership, examining the relationship between consensus, identity, institutions and the drift towards illiberalism.
At Sconfinare Festival, Giannini reflects on the political weight of words: their ability to build trust or fuel fear, to open up dialogue or reduce complexity to slogans.
An encounter to explore the relationship between public language and democratic responsibility, and to ask ourselves how much room remains for critical thought when communication becomes a permanent exercise of power.
The event will be moderated by Lorenzo Buccella, cultural journalist.
Massimo Giannini
is a journalist, essayist and political commentator. A columnist and former deputy editor of
la Repubblica
, he has worked for
Il Sole 24 Ore
and served as editor of Radio Capital and
La Stampa
. He hosted
Ballarò
on Rai 3 and regularly contributes to televised public debate. His most recent books include
Il dovere della speranza. Le guerre, il disordine mondiale, la crisi dell’Europa e i dilemmi dell’Italia
, co-written with Romano Prodi (Rizzoli, 2024), and
La Sciamana. Meloni, l’ultima trumpista: fenomenologia della destra illiberale
(Rizzoli, 2026).
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Stadt Bellinzona - Amt für Bildung und Kultur
Piazza del Sole, 6500, Bellinzona, Switzerland
sconfinarefestival@bellinzona.ch
- Doors open at 9:30 am. Unreserved seating.
- Seatings
Non-numbered seats. - Included in the ticket
The conference admission ticket includes snacks and drinks. - Reduced price
Students, AHV and IV only on presentation of an identity document.