Trovautore Fiuggi

A square turned into a bookstore

In the heart of Fiuggi Fonte, in the province of Frosinone, Piazza Spada hosts Trovautore Fiuggi every summer, a literary festival dedicated to small and medium-sized independent publishing. For three days, publishing house stands occupy the square and surrounding arcades: here, you can browse catalogs rarely found on mass-market shelves, chat with publishers, discover debut authors, and buy unique, rare books.

A grassroots project

The festival is organized by the TrovAutore Fiuggi Cultural Association, which has been promoting reading in the town of Fiuggi and throughout the Ciociaria region for over a decade. The project has grown with each edition, becoming one of the most recognizable literary events in the Lazio Region during the summer, earning Fiuggi the recognition of City that Reads by the Cepell. The format remains true to its origins: no red carpets, just a direct and informal connection between writers, publishers, and readers.

What to expect in the program

The schedule alternates between different formats throughout the day, from late afternoon until late evening:

• Book presentations and dialogues with authors, moderated by journalists and critics;
• Meetings with independent publishers, who share their catalogs and the craft of publishing outside major groups;
• Workshops and readings for children and teenagers, with activities designed for vacationing families;
• Evening theatrical performances, readings, and musical moments in the square;
• Award ceremonies for literary contests linked to the festival, including the short fiction prize dedicated to the city.

Each edition revolves around a theme: in 2025, for its tenth anniversary, the festival chose «45-25 Freedom — Eighty years of words and resistance»; in 2026, the eleventh edition continued the reflection on the freedom of speech, with a tribute to Filippo Tommaso Marinetti on the 150th anniversary of his birth.

The atmosphere

Trovautore thrives on the intimate scale of the square: chairs arranged in front of the stage, passersby stopping to listen, and authors lingering to chat between sessions. It is a town-sized event where the line between guest and spectator is intentionally thin, and where evenings stretch out between an aperitif and the final presentation.

Fiuggi, the city of waters

The festival is also an excellent excuse to discover Fiuggi, a historic spa town in Lazio just over an hour from Rome, famous for its mineral waters and the medieval village of Fiuggi Città, perched above the modern area. In July, the hilly climate at about 750 meters above sea level makes the evenings particularly pleasant: a condition that made the choice of an open-air square as the venue for the event a natural one.

Useful information

Admission to meetings and performances is free of charge. The complete program is published on the official website and the festival's social media channels in the weeks leading up to the event.