GREAT SUCCESS FOR THE DIALOGHI A COL BRIÀ POETRY SLAM: A CHALLENGE OF VERSE AMONG THE HEROIC BANKS OF THE CONEGLIANO VALDOBBIADENE RIVER

Against the backdrop of the Conegliano Valdobbiadene hills, thirteen contestants of varying ages and backgrounds competed on the theme of the 2026 edition , "Between Woods and Non-Woods," inspired by the poetry of Andrea Zanzotto . Young authors and more mature poets took up the challenge, tackling a topic that evoked the concept of "between" as a space of passage, a threshold, and a fault line capable of traversing landscapes, languages, and human experiences.

Using different yet always personal languages, the participants chose the landscape as their primary interlocutor or entrusted it directly with the task of speaking, giving voice to the forest and the vineyard, the mountains and the traffic, the birds, the flowery meadows, and even the shopping mall. The verses recounted the tensions between nature and human presence, memory and transformation, often evoking influences from the poetics of Andrea Zanzotto, combining sound experimentation, dialect, and the search for authentic and original language.

The landscape thus became both a character and a mirror of human experience. Some poets chose the vocative, so dear to Zanzotto, to address nature directly; others relied on dialect, onomatopoeia, and a corporeal and primordial language: "petèl," the language of origins that the Treviso poet had made his own.

The performances were judged by the audience and a panel of judges. At the end of the competition, first prize was awarded to Leonardo Fantuzzi , followed by Enrico Contessotto , second place, and Rozamira Prodan , third place. The winners received book vouchers.

The 2026 Dialogues at Col Brià series will continue on Saturday, June 13, with the participatory roundtable discussion "Landscapes in Balance: Languages, Interactions, and Sustainability," an open discussion dedicated to civic engagement in Andrea Zanzotto's poetry, landscape transformations between memory and future, and the need to "bring forests into cities." Speakers will include Francesco Vallerani , professor of Geography at Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Enrico De Mori (FAI), Miro Graziotin , storyteller, and Tommaso Antiga , researcher at the University of Architecture in Udine. Journalist Angela Pederiva will moderate the discussion.

The event will conclude on Saturday, June 20th, with a poetry and sound reading dedicated to the verses of Andrea Zanzotto. Pierluigi Tomasi 's narrator will be accompanied by the music of Roberto Tombesi , who will create a score inspired by the sounds of nature and the land through the use of ethnic and ancient instruments.

Participation in the events is free but registration is required by writing to info@lafarra.it .