Tuesday 31 January, 6pm
Enrico Franceschini presents
Come girare il mondo gratis – un giornalista con la valigia
The author in conversation with Luigi Ippolito (Corriere della Sera), Alessandra Rizzo (La Stampa) and Marco Varvello (RAI)
In Italian
Three continents, five capitals (New York, Washington, Moscow, Jerusalem and London), twenty house relocations and never a dull moment. In his new book, recently published by Baldini+Castoldi, Enrico Franceschini sums up forty years around the world as foreign correspondent of the Italian daily newspaper La Repubblica: from the United States to Russia, from the Middle East to Europe, via Central America, Afghanistan, China, Japan and North Africa, to write about elections and earthquakes, Olympic Games and coups d’etat, Hollywood and terrorism, crazy nights at the Trump Tower in Manhattan with Federico Fellini and formal banquets at Buckingham Palace as a guest of the Queen.
But what does it really mean to change house, city of residence and job description all the time? What is the behind the scenes reality of working as a foreign correspondent? And has this kind of journalism still a role to play at the time of the digital revolution and the social media era?
Franceschini recounts his life as a reporter, his encounters with some of the most powerful people in the world, from Ronald Reagan to Mikhail Gorbaciov, from Shimon Peres to Yasser Arafat, from Tony Blair to Elizabeth II, as well as with the first man on the Moon, Neil Armstrong, and the fastest man on Earth, Usain Bolt, plus with many prominent journalists, starting with his first editor at La Repubblica, Eugenio Scalfari. He offers a passionate, ironic and illuminating take on journalism and on the countries where he has lived. With a word of advice for those who wish to become a foreign correspondent: the price is a non-stop lifestyle, the reward will be the opportunity to “travel the world for free”.
Enrico Franceschini has travelled all over the world during his forty years as foreign correspondent of Italian daily newspaper La Repubblica. He has lived in New York, Washington, Moscow, Jerusalem and London, where he still resides.
In 1993 he won the Premiolino, one of the oldest and most prestigious journalistic awards in Italy, for his coverage of the golpe in Russia. He is the author of 25 books of fiction and non-fiction, including the trilogy of thrillers Bassa Marea, Ferragosto, Un’estate a Borgomarina, and the recent biography Elisabetta II, l’ultima grande regina.
Luigi Ippolito is the UK correspondent for the Italian daily newspaper Il Corriere della Sera. He has been working for the paper since 1989, and for many years, prior to his move to London, he was the editor of the International News section.
Alessandra Rizzo has been living in London for the past 10 years. She has been a correspondent for the Associated Press in Rome and has also worked for Reuters and the Wall Street Journal. She is a contributor for the Italian daily newspaper La Stampa and editor for the digital services of Sky News TV.
Marco Varvello is the UK correspondent for RAI – Italian State Television. He worked for “La Notte” and “Il Giornale” under Indro Montanelli. In RAI since 1987, he anchored the TV News for TG1, edited “Il Fatto” by Enzo Biagi and was previously the RAI correspondent in Berlin and the US. He is the author of the books Dimentica le Mille e una Notte (Rizzoli), Brexit Blues (Mondadori), and most recently Londra Anni venti (Bompiani).