Grace under pressure

The exhibition, curated by architect Alessandra Morra, stems from a period of study and reflection on the intellectual significance of writers and translators from the Langhe and Roero region: Cesare Pavese and Beppe Fenoglio. Thanks to these translators, American literature arrived in Italy, bringing with it a wind of change.

Central to this is Fernanda Pivano, translator of the Spoon River Anthology and Hemingway's works for Einaudi. It was she who promoted and promoted the Beat Generation writers in Italy and published the first article on Bob Dylan. Her translations inspired Fabrizio De André, whom she herself proclaimed as the poet of 20th-century Italy, after Pier Paolo Pasolini renounced his claim.

Through images from the Pivano Archive and Ettore Sottsass, featured in Fernanda Pivano and Guido Harari's book "The Beat Goes On," the public will also have the opportunity to understand how photography has made the figure of a translator iconic.

The title, “Grace Under Pressure,” evokes an unforgettable quote by Ernest Hemingway about grace: “Grace is the touch of one who is full of what is missing and cannot be missing. And it reveals itself supremely in difficulty. In pain. In the imminence of the end.” This phrase connects us to all of Cesare Pavese's poetics.