Italissimo, the festival of Italian literature and culture, is back in Paris for another sun-drenched edition, from April 7 to 12, 2026. It’s a chance to discover the latest from contemporary Italian literature and to dive into this rich culture. Here is the program for this edition.
Founded in 2016, this cultural festival takes you on a sunny journey through Italy — right from the heart of Paris! From April 7 to 12, 2026, Italissimo, the Italian literature and culture festival, returns to the French capital for yet another exciting edition. This vibrant event spotlights Italian artists through a variety of happenings staged across Paris.
Italissimo is a true cultural bridge between France and Italy. While literature takes center stage at this festival, the diversity of cultural expressions extends far beyond that. Every year, the event showcases literary discoveries, along with film screenings, performances, concerts, and musical gatherings. It also features opportunities for交流 and discussions, and even tastings. For nearly a week in spring, French and Italian events animate the capital city, creating a vibrant cross-cultural experience.
This festival indeed takes place across several venues: although the program varies each year, many of the same participants often return. For instance, Italissimo regularly sets up at the Richelieu Branch of the National Library, the Italian Cultural Institute, the House of Poetry, the Italian Cultural Institute, Sciences Po, Sorbonne University, the Odéon Theatre, and the Panthéon Cinema. In total, around twenty venues welcome us for this festival in Paris.
The lineup for this 2026 edition brings together a number of writers from diverse backgrounds, among them Francesca Melandri, Alessandro Piperno, Paolo Rumiz, Giuseppe Catozzella, Claudia Durastanti, Francesca Giannone, Antonio Franchini, Antonio Moresco, Federica Manzon, Ginevra Lamberti, Dario Voltolini, Francesco Vidotto, Nicoletta Verna, Emanuela Anechoum, Elvio Carrieri, Nicoletta Vallorani...
Our pick of can't-miss events at this festival:
- Exposition
IDENTITY BEYOND BORDERS. IDENTITIES BEYOND THE FRONTIERS
From Friday, April 10, 2026
Italian Cultural Institute
Free admission, registration required
To mark the Collezione Farnesina’s 25th anniversary, this exhibition reflects on the most urgent and complex themes of contemporary life. The relationship between humans and nature, the concept of identity, environmental and social sustainability… From social critique to celebrating resilience: these are the topics explored by artists spanning generations and disciplines, aiming to open a contemporary, universal dialogue on identity.
Featuring works by Carla Accardi, Letizia Battaglia, Elena Bellantoni, Tomaso Binga, Silvia Camporesi, Iginio De Luca, Loredana Di Lillo, Paola Gandolfi, Silvia Giambrone, Ketty La Rocca, Maria Lai, Elena Mazzi, Mario Merz, Elisa Montessori, Laura Pugno, Marta Roberti and Marinella Senatore.
- GIANCARLO DE CATALDO
Friday, April 10, 2026, 6:00 PM
La Cantine Littéraire at Isola: 15 Rue Ternaux, 75011
Literary aperitif with a writer. An informal exchange about his books and work.
- DIS-MOI UNE CHOSE
Friday, April 10, 2026, 6:00 PM
Public Information Library - Workshop 1, Level 2
Free registration
Creative writing workshop with Francesco Forlani. A session turning iconic objects of Italian culture into micro-stories. A Vespa, a Neapolitan coffee pot, a Murano glass pearl, butterfly-shaped pasta… each “thing” could become a step into the heart of the Bel Paese.
Two hours, a notebook, a pen, to share the writer’s, actor’s and poet Francesco Forlani’s experience and imagination, author of Par-delà la forêt (Léo Scheer, 2020) and L’amico spagnolo (Exòrma, 2025).
- UMBERTO ECO - THE LIBRARY OF THE WORLD
Friday, April 10, 2026, 9:00 PM
Cinéma l'Entrepôt
Film by Davide Ferrario, introduction by Paolo Modugno (Italy, 2022, 1h20, VOSTF)
In 2015, a year before the master’s death, Davide Ferrario met Umberto Eco and discovered the extraordinary library in his private study on Piazza Castello in Milan: more than 30,000 books and a wealth of rare and ancient volumes. The director returns to this extraordinary place to tell, with Eco’s family, the universalist project that animated him and to survey this “library of the world,” a monument to the power of knowledge.
Ticket: €9.50 / Reduced €8
Booking: www.cinemalentrepot.fr
- FRANCESCA GIANNONE | FOLLOWING HER PATH
Saturday, April 11, 2026, 5:00 PM
Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris / Maison de l'Italie
Free admission with reservation
Discussion moderated by Patricia Martin
Lauded by La porteuse de lettres (Albin Michel, 2025) and a blockbuster in Italy, Francesca Giannone once again fuses intimate memory with grand history as she examines a nascent Italian society at the end of the 1950s discovering a new way of life. When their father sells the family soap business, Lorenzo and Agnese watch this heritage—once a burden—slip away even as a comforting future beckons. Amid upheaval, the siblings make a different choice. A moment, a fracture, a decision: the novelist dissects this turning point and its consequences. An intense, gripping journey and novel.
- NICOLETTA VALLORANI
Saturday, April 11, 2026, 6:00 PM
La Cantine Littéraire Isola
Literary aperitif with a writer. An open dialogue about her books and work.
- A LIFE LIKE THIS
Sunday, April 12, 2026, 11:00 AM
Cinéma du Panthéon
Directed by Riccardo Milani in conversation with the director, and presented by Paolo Modugno (Italy, 2025, 1h58, VOSTF)
On the south-west coast of Sardinia, Efisio, a shepherd, defends his land against a real estate group's plan to build a luxury resort on the beach. Outnumbered by his fellow villagers who are eager to take the offer, he stands his ground. In Paris ahead of its time, Milani’s latest comedy, inspired by a true story, opens Rome’s Festa del Cinema.
Ticket: €9.50 / Reduced €7.50
Booking: www.cinemadupantheon-reserver.cotecine.fr
- CATERINA AND THE GANG OF THE HAIRY ONES
Sunday, April 12, 2026, 11:00 AM
Maison de la Poésie / Passage Molière
Flat rate: €7
Booking: maisondelapoesieparis.com
Creative workshop for children aged 7 to 12
In French and Italian with Alessandro Tota
Comic book author, scriptwriter and children’s author, Yellow Kid Award winner at Lucca Comics 2025 and two-time finalist for Angoulême’s Comics Festival, Alessandro Tota is also an experienced educator. He invites youngsters to explore the imaginative universe of his heroine Caterina in this workshop. A chance to invent new characters inspired by this exuberant, popular gang. An ideal lab to master the language of comics and its codes.
Alessandro Tota will sign his albums at 3:30 PM.
- PRIMA LA VITA
Sunday, April 12, 2026, 4:30 PM
Cinéma l'Entrepôt
Directed by Francesca Comencini, introduced by Paolo Modugno (Italy/France, 2024, 1h50, VOSTF)
Between Rome and Paris, the story of a father and his daughter. He is Luigi Comencini, a great filmmaker of childhood. He works on Pinocchio and leads his daughter into magical worlds brimming with life and humanity. Until the day the little girl grows up, and the enchantment fades. To escape misfortune, they leave Rome and seek refuge in the City of Light, where the fight to save her from nightmares begins. In a deeply personal film, Francesca Comencini recounts the learning of life that comes before the urge to create.
Ticket: €9.50 / Reduced €8
Booking: www.cinemalentrepot.fr
To see all the festival events, visit the official Italissimo website. Stay tuned to Sortiraparis.com for all the details of this 2026 edition of the Italissimo festival, and enjoy this special cultural gathering to be lived in spring in Paris!
