Poetica – Poetry Festival for Dreamy Children and Teens
The national poetry festival for children and teens at the Giovanni Falcone Comprehensive Institute in Pianura, Naples
About Poetica
Poetica: Poetry Returns to Pianura
Poetica is the poetry festival hosted by the Giovanni Falcone Comprehensive Institute in Pianura, a neighborhood on the western outskirts of the City of Naples, in Campania. It was born in 2023 from an idea by professor Francesca Rametta and has grown, year after year, into one of the area's most recognizable cultural events: not an event imposed from above, but a project built within the school and then opened to the entire city.
The central theme is the power of the word as a tool for listening and sharing. The organizers love to describe it using the image of a swallow: poetry travels great distances and through difficult seasons, but in the end, it always returns. In a neighborhood often defined only by its vulnerabilities, Poetica chooses to speak of verses, imagination, and dreams, entrusting the word directly to the youngest generation.
The National Poetry Competition: Balloons and Hot Air Balloons
The heart of the festival is a national poetry competition open to students from all over Italy, divided into two categories with intentionally light and airy names:
- Balloons — reserved for primary school children, aged 9-10;
- Hot Air Balloons — dedicated to lower secondary school students, aged 11-13.
The competing poems arrive from comprehensive institutes across various regions: recent editions have awarded texts from schools in Naples, the province of Caserta, and even Palermo, confirming the truly national scope of the initiative. The works are evaluated by a jury of poets, teachers, and university researchers, and the young winning authors are primarily awarded books: the most fitting prize for a festival dedicated to reading and writing.
Workshops, Meetings, and Contemporary Poetry Voices
Leading up to the awards ceremony, Poetica fills the spring weeks with a busy calendar of educational workshops and meetings with contemporary authors and scholars. Students work on collective writing, poetry in English, and great classics like Orlando Furioso, as well as themes that hit close to home: resilience, bullying, and the sea as a metaphor for travel and waiting.
Speakers include researchers from the University of Naples Federico II and Sapienza University of Rome, alongside poets and collectives from the contemporary scene. The result is a virtuous short-circuit: academic research enters a suburban middle school classroom, and the students respond with their own verses.
A School as a Cultural Hub
Alongside professor Rametta, the project's creator and manager, coordination is handled by a group of school teachers — Angela De Bellis, Giorgia Fiore, Priscilla Lepore, and Maria Gabriella Puglisi — who oversee the call for entries, workshops, and the organization of the final day. The event is documented by the students themselves through RadioPunto Falcone, the school's editorial team that produces interviews, in-depth reports, and social media content throughout the festival.
This is perhaps the most interesting trait of Poetica: it is not an event for spectators, but a participatory project where students write, read, interview, and organize. For the Pianura neighborhood and the Metropolitan City of Naples, the festival represents a stable cultural hub, capable of networking schools from all over Italy around a simple idea: that even at nine years old, one can be a poet.
When It Takes Place
The festival is concentrated in the spring months and culminates in May with the awards ceremony in the conference hall of the I.C. Giovanni Falcone, at Via Pallucci 100. The competition call is released in the preceding months, and poems must be submitted by the April deadline specified each year by the school.
Poetica — edition 2026
Poetica 2026: The Floor to Young Poets
The 2026 edition of the Poetica festival confirmed the formula that has made this event a recognized appointment well beyond the borders of the Pianura district in Naples. The journey, built throughout the spring with workshops and meetings aimed at primary and lower secondary school students, concluded on Friday, May 15, 2026, at 11:00 AM in the conference hall of the Giovanni Falcone Comprehensive Institute.
The guest of honor for the day was Matteo Palumbo, professor emeritus at the University of Naples Federico II. The jury for the national poetry competition was chaired by poet Carmen Gallo, joined by Bernardo De Luca, Luca Ferraro, Assunta Scotto di Carlo, and Antonio Perrone, all from the Federico II University.
The Winners
In the Balloons category (9-10 years old), the first prize went to Ludovica Mangiapia of the I.C. Falcone in Pianura for Tutti lo sanno; second place went to Eva Iuliano and Annamaria Forte (I.C. De Amicis-Baracca) for L'orsacchiotto grigiolino, and third to Viviana Campoluongo (I.C. 20 Villa Fleurent) for Un salto nel domani; a special mention went to a class from the I.C. Giovanni Falcone in Palermo for Preghiera.
In the Hot Air Balloons category (11-13 years old), Luigi Scognamillo (I.C. Falcone) won with I pensieri che mischio, ahead of Chiara Palma of the I.C. Filippo Santagata in Gricignano di Aversa with L'incastro perfetto; third place was shared by Amalia Porrino (Sola e pensosa) and Andrea Zagarella (La balena e l'orologio), with a special mention to Andrea Calì for La scatola dei ricordi.
Workshops and Festival Coverage
The workshop program touched on contemporary poetry and the sea as a metaphor, Orlando Furioso, collective writing, resilience, bullying, and poetry in English. The entire event was documented by RadioPunto Falcone, the school's student editorial team, through interviews and in-depth reports.
Programme Poetica 2026
Awards Ceremony — Friday, May 15, 2026, 11:00 AM
Conference Hall of the I.C. Giovanni Falcone, Via Pallucci 100, Pianura (Naples).
- Guest of honor: Matteo Palumbo, Professor Emeritus of Italian Literature, Federico II University;
- Competition Jury: Carmen Gallo (Chair, poet), Bernardo De Luca, Luca Ferraro, Assunta Scotto di Carlo, Antonio Perrone (Federico II University);
- Proclamation of winners in the Balloons (9-10 years) and Hot Air Balloons (11-13 years) categories and presentation of book prizes;
- Readings of winning texts by the young authors;
- Live coverage and interviews by RadioPunto Falcone, the student editorial team.
Workshops and Meetings (preceding weeks)
- Bernardo De Luca — Contemporary poetry and the sea as a metaphor;
- Luca Ferraro — Orlando Furioso and chivalric literature;
- Luigi Riccio — Collective writing and contemporary authors;
- Vincenzo Patella — Poetic journey for primary school;
- Sara Pisano — Resilience through poetry;
- Agostino Russo — Workshop on bullying and poetry, starting from L'altra metà;
- Domenico Casellina — Poetry Lab in English;
- Libera Poesia Contemporanea Collective with Chiara Ferrante — Poetic bestiaries.
National Poetry Competition
Submission of texts by the April deadline indicated in the call; two age categories, Balloons for primary school and Hot Air Balloons for lower secondary school, open to schools across Italy.
Highlights Poetica 2026
- Awards ceremony on May 15, 2026, with Professor Emeritus Matteo Palumbo as guest of honor;
- Jury chaired by poet Carmen Gallo, with professors and researchers from Federico II;
- National competition with entries from schools in Naples, the province of Caserta, and Palermo;
- Eight poetry workshops, from collective writing to Poetry Lab in English;
- Festival coverage provided by RadioPunto Falcone, the student web radio.
Prices Poetica 2026
Practical information — Poetica
Location
Conference Hall of the Giovanni Falcone Comprehensive Institute, Via Pallucci 100, 80126 Naples, Pianura district.
How to Get There
- By car: Take the Naples Tangenziale exit no. 8 Agnano or no. 9 Pianura, then follow signs for the town center. Parking on side streets is limited: it is advisable to arrive early.
- By train: Naples Central Station is the main arrival point for those coming from outside the region; from there, continue via Metro Line 1 and local bus connections to Pianura.
- By public transport: Pianura is served by ANM bus lines connecting the neighborhood with Fuorigrotta, Soccavo, and the Agnano area.
- By plane: Naples-Capodichino Airport, about a half-hour drive away.
Participation
Poetica is a school initiative: the national poetry competition is open to primary and lower secondary school classes across Italy, who participate by following the call for entries published by the institute. There are no tickets for sale for the meetings or the awards ceremony.
Information
Giovanni Falcone Comprehensive Institute — tel. +39 081 7269986, email [email protected]. The call for entries, dates, and updates are published on the school's website.
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Where does it take place — Poetica
Istituto Comprensivo Giovanni Falcone - aula conferenze
Via Pallucci 100, 80126 Napoli