The Beauty of Words

A festival celebrating the power of words

La bellezza delle parole is the literary event that animates the heart of Cesena every year, in the province of Forlì-Cesena, in Emilia-Romagna. Promoted by the Municipality of Cesena and produced by the Babel agency, the festival has established itself as one of Romagna's most anticipated cultural events: for three days, the city becomes a grand literary stage where leading national and international writers meet the public.

The festival venues

The festival's strength also lies in its venues. The meetings take place in the city's symbolic locations:

• the Malatestiana Library, the first civic library in Europe and a UNESCO Memory of the World heritage site, with its famous Nuti Great Hall;
• the Alessandro Bonci Theatre, an 19th-century gem in the heart of the historic center;
• the Eliseo Multiscreen Cinema;
• the Sozzi Hall of the Palazzo del Ridotto, overlooking Piazza del Popolo.

A word for every encounter

Each edition proposes a thematic journey built around words themselves: each author is assigned a term — desire, freedom, community, elegance, solitude — which becomes the key to their dialogue with the public. Words thus reveal themselves to be much more than simple tools: they are keys, maps, and talismans capable of revealing inner worlds and connecting readers and writers in a shared experience.

La bellezza delle parole OFF

Alongside the main program, the La bellezza delle parole OFF section disseminates the festival into the city's bookstores in the days preceding the main events, with presentations, author dialogues, and workshops. It's the festival's way of involving the entire community of readers and independent booksellers in the area.

A free event open to all

Almost all events are free admission and do not require booking, in line with the festival's aim to make culture accessible. Over the years, the event has hosted renowned authors such as Daria Bignardi, Nicola Lagioia, Walter Veltroni, Elena Stancanelli, Catherine Dunne, and Teresa Ciabatti, confirming its status as a benchmark for those who love books and stories.