Scienza e Virgola is back! The Festival reaches its ninth edition in 2025 and will once again bring the city to life with a vibrant week of science, literature and society. Scienza e Virgola is scheduled from 6 to 11 May and includes 40 new books — with six national previews — and a rich calendar of dialogues, performances, immersive events and screenings will offer new perspectives on science in today’s world.
This year’s theme – "Technopolitics and beyond: a planet in transition" – will run through the entire programme. A dedicated section will focus on the rising power of new technologies, from the geopolitics of AI to the challenges of outer space. The festival will open with a special dialogue between Paolo Giordano, the festival’s artistic director, and Asma Mhalla from Columbia University, one of the leading voices on the complex relationships between nation states and Big Tech.
The programme include important guest as, among many others, Massimo Recalcati, Martin MacInnes, Antonella Viola, Alessandro Aiuti, Matteo Lancini, Franco Buffoni, Giorgia Bollati, Donatella di Pietrantonio, Alessandro Aresu, and many more from across the cultural and scientific landscape. One of the highlights will be the first public meeting with the finalists of the new Premio Strega Saggistica, Italy’s prestigious non-fiction literary award, taking place on 11 May.
The festival will be spread across more than 20 venues in and beyond the city – from schools, libraries, bookshops and museums to cafés, the “Ernesto Mari” prison and the Casa Serena care home — offering diverse audiences the chance to engage with science through cinema, theatre, poetry and a wide range of creative formats.
Scienza e Virgola 2025 is made possible thanks to the support of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, Fondazione CRTrieste, Fondazioni Casali, Fondazione Pezcoller, Fondazione Pietro Pittini, SISSA Medialab, and with contributions from Fondazione AIRC, Fondazione Telethon, vicino/lontano Festival, Maker Faire Trieste, Trieste Science+Fiction Festival, ICGEB - The International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, ICTP – The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, the municipalities of Trieste, Pordenone and Precenicco.
Main partners include Teatro Miela/Bonawentura, Casa del Cinema di Trieste, Antico Caffè e Libreria San Marco, and Triestebookfest. Other festival partners are Festival dell’Acqua di Staranzano, Trieste Next, UWC Adriatic and Sonic Pro APS. Technical partners: Nava Press and Distillerie Artigianali Nonino.
Media partners: RAI Friuli Venezia Giulia, RAI Radio 3, and Gruppo NEM Nordest Multimedia.
Find out more and explore the full programme at www.scienzaevirgola.it