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Nuova Libreria Cappelli – Wu Ming 2 presents Mensaleri
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7 – WU MING 2 IN BOLZANO
On Saturday, February 7 at 6:00 PM, Wu Ming 2 will present Mensaleri (Einaudi) at Nuova Libreria Cappelli in Bolzano, in conversation with Mariella Natale.
The event is in collaboration with Arci Bolzano and Spazio 77.
No reservation required.
About Wu Ming 2:
Wu Ming 2 is the pseudonym of Giovanni Cattabriga (Bologna, 1974), writer and founding member of the narrative collective Wu Ming, which has contributed significantly to contemporary Italian literature, starting with the novel Q (Einaudi, 1999), initially published under the collective name Luther Blissett.
Alongside his collaborative work, he has developed a solid solo authorship. Notable solo works include:
Guerra agli umani (Einaudi, 2004), a grotesque and irreverent novel set in the Apennine woods;
Il sentiero degli dei (Ediciclo, 2010), an original hybrid narrative blending reportage and journey;
Timira (Einaudi, 2012), co-written with Antar Mohamed, a powerful portrait of Isabella Marincola, an Italian, Black, antifascist woman;
Il sentiero luminoso (Ediciclo, 2016), exploring partisan resistance through the lenses of travel and memory;
Mensaleri (Einaudi, 2025), a century-long saga of rebellions, workers’ struggles, and a mysterious butterfly extermination.
Following the Wu Ming collective’s principles, Wu Ming 2 keeps his personal biography private, revealing only autobiographical elements with narrative or political relevance, in line with the group’s ethos of focusing attention on the text rather than the author.
About Mensaleri:
At the dawn of industrial Italy, in a remote province, technology collides with a secret cult. On one side, machines and their enchantments; on the other, a ritual always on the verge of disappearing but resurfacing again and again. A century-long saga of rebellions, workers’ struggles, and a mysterious butterfly extermination.
In 1868, Nazzaro Mensa buys the island of Parpai on the Leri River and builds a large paper mill. On the opposite bank, he founds a village for the workers, naming it after his family and the river: Mensaleri. It seems the dream of an enlightened entrepreneur, but around Nazzaro there are not only engineers and technicians—there is also a magician assisting him in decision-making. By 1995, the Mensa era has ended, the factory has changed hands multiple times, and the banks have let it die, despite strikes and occupations. It is then that Riniero, Nazzaro’s great-grandson, appears with an irresistible plan to regenerate the industrial site and give Mensaleri a new direction. Or perhaps not.
On Saturday, February 7 at 6:00 PM, Wu Ming 2 will present Mensaleri (Einaudi) at Nuova Libreria Cappelli in Bolzano, in conversation with Mariella Natale.
The event is in collaboration with Arci Bolzano and Spazio 77.
No reservation required.
About Wu Ming 2:
Wu Ming 2 is the pseudonym of Giovanni Cattabriga (Bologna, 1974), writer and founding member of the narrative collective Wu Ming, which has contributed significantly to contemporary Italian literature, starting with the novel Q (Einaudi, 1999), initially published under the collective name Luther Blissett.
Alongside his collaborative work, he has developed a solid solo authorship. Notable solo works include:
Guerra agli umani (Einaudi, 2004), a grotesque and irreverent novel set in the Apennine woods;
Il sentiero degli dei (Ediciclo, 2010), an original hybrid narrative blending reportage and journey;
Timira (Einaudi, 2012), co-written with Antar Mohamed, a powerful portrait of Isabella Marincola, an Italian, Black, antifascist woman;
Il sentiero luminoso (Ediciclo, 2016), exploring partisan resistance through the lenses of travel and memory;
Mensaleri (Einaudi, 2025), a century-long saga of rebellions, workers’ struggles, and a mysterious butterfly extermination.
Following the Wu Ming collective’s principles, Wu Ming 2 keeps his personal biography private, revealing only autobiographical elements with narrative or political relevance, in line with the group’s ethos of focusing attention on the text rather than the author.
About Mensaleri:
At the dawn of industrial Italy, in a remote province, technology collides with a secret cult. On one side, machines and their enchantments; on the other, a ritual always on the verge of disappearing but resurfacing again and again. A century-long saga of rebellions, workers’ struggles, and a mysterious butterfly extermination.
In 1868, Nazzaro Mensa buys the island of Parpai on the Leri River and builds a large paper mill. On the opposite bank, he founds a village for the workers, naming it after his family and the river: Mensaleri. It seems the dream of an enlightened entrepreneur, but around Nazzaro there are not only engineers and technicians—there is also a magician assisting him in decision-making. By 1995, the Mensa era has ended, the factory has changed hands multiple times, and the banks have let it die, despite strikes and occupations. It is then that Riniero, Nazzaro’s great-grandson, appears with an irresistible plan to regenerate the industrial site and give Mensaleri a new direction. Or perhaps not.
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