From 7 to 10 May 2026, Scienza e Virgola, the science book festival created and promoted by SISSA’s Interdisciplinary Laboratory, returns to Trieste, marking its tenth anniversary this year. With artistic direction by writer Paolo Giordano, the festival will unfold across more than 20 venues in the city and additional locations throughout the region.
This year’s theme, Human, invites a timely reflection on what defines us today as a species, set against the transformations of the Anthropocene and the challenges posed by artificial intelligence. Through books, theatre and conversations, the festival offers a shared space to explore the relationship between science, society and culture.
Among the guests are Concita De Gregorio, Francesco Costa, Nathacha Appanah, Andrea Bajani and Samah Karaki, alongside many other voices from the contemporary cultural and scientific landscape.
The festival will bring science into everyday settings, from cafés to schools, and into places of care and reflection, including the Ernesto Mari prison in Trieste, the Gregoretti residential care home and the IRCCS Burlo Garofolo hospital, with the aim of making knowledge more accessible and widely shared.
The tenth edition is made possible thanks to the support of the Regione Autonoma Friuli Venezia Giulia, Fondazione CRTrieste, Fondazione Pietro Pittini, SISSA Medialab and Educating Future Citizens, with additional support from ICTP – Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Festival vicino/lontano, Festival dell’Acqua di Staranzano, Scenasonica, Immaginario Scientifico and the Municipality of Trieste. Main partner: Agorai Innovation Hub; project partners: Antico Caffè e Libreria San Marco and Teatro Miela Bonawentura.
More information and the full programme are available at www.scienzaevirgola.it