The Alchemy of Memory

An event dedicated to one of the most significant figures in Italian literature and a key witness to the 20th century: Primo Levi, chemist, writer and witness to the Holocaust.

Set symbolically in Avigliana, in the dynamite factory that has been converted into a paint factory, the show retraces some key moments in his life: his experience of deportation and Auschwitz, his return home, his years working as a chemist, and the gradual emergence of writing as a form of testimony and reflection.

This thematic journey highlights Levi’s extraordinary ability to bring science and literature, rigour and imagination, into dialogue. Alongside the passages relating to his personal experience, there are science-fiction stories, his focus on the world of work, and that curiosity about reality which runs through his entire body of work.

Narration, readings, poetry, music and songs weave together a multi-layered narrative, in which the dramatic dimension of memory intertwines with poetry, irony and wonder. The texts include adaptations and abridgements of works by Primo Levi, alongside original pieces written specifically for the performance.

The event aims to present the public with an unconventional and complex portrait of Levi: not merely a witness to the Holocaust, but also a scientist, a writer and a man with a profound curiosity about the world, capable of transforming his own experiences into knowledge and literature.

From 27 September, alongside the musical events scheduled in Santa Maria, visitors will also be able to immerse themselves in the world of art through the exhibition Beyond the Portrait, a show dedicated to the works of the artist Daniela Bruno: an opportunity to combine the experience of music with that of painting, whilst discovering the artist’s perspective and artistic sensibility.