Il Castello di Libri

A literary festival in the heart of the Bari south-east

Il Castello di Libri is the literary festival that brings Sammichele di Bari, a municipality in the Metropolitan City of Bari, Puglia, to life every September. For three evenings, the courtyard of the Castello Caracciolo, located in the town's historic centre, turns into a true laboratory of thought, dialogue, and culture, open to both the local community and visitors.

More than just book presentations, but dialogues

The festival's formula is its hallmark: the meetings are not classic book presentations, but dialogues between authors, journalists, and intellectuals capable of sharing the thought process behind the writing with the audience. Each evening tackles the major civil themes of the present—rights, legality, migration, education, and memory—with an approach that combines intellectual rigour with direct interaction with the audience.

Who organizes it

The event is promoted by the Municipality of Sammichele di Bari together with Radici Future Produzioni and the Legalitria project, the publishing and legality fair active in Puglia. The artistic direction is entrusted to sociologist and writer Leonardo Palmisano, who builds a programme every year that is attentive to current affairs and the voices of the national publishing scene, pairing established names with new proposals. The festival is part of the initiatives aimed at fostering a curious and civic-minded citizenry.

The setting of the Castello Caracciolo

The Castello Caracciolo, which gives the festival its name, is the symbolic monument of Sammichele di Bari and offers a suggestive setting for the meetings. The village, also known for its gastronomic tradition linked to the zampina sausage, welcomes an attentive audience during these days, with free admission to the evening events.

A highly anticipated event

Having grown edition after edition, Il Castello di Libri has established itself as one of the most important literary events in the south-east of Bari, capable of bringing authors and journalists of national importance to Sammichele and fostering quality public debate in the Puglia region.