He shares an appeal on social media to save his “treasure”: a collection of thirteen thousand volumes, accumulated over the years, which he wants to make public, available to everyone.
The writer Roberto Saviano explains the reasons for his choice on an Instagram story, opening a contact box for anyone who wants to welcome his books: «Here is my library, in which I have collected around 13,000 volumes throughout my life. It is my treasure; they are all books that I have studied, that I have not inherited, but they are all mine, purchased or received. Due to my very difficult life situation I no longer know how to manage them: I move often, and it is increasingly difficult to manage my movements and my treasure. Therefore, I have a dream: to make this collection a public library, in which I too can continue to study, because I don’t want to be completely separated from my books. So, if there is anyone, in Italy or abroad, who wants to welcome them, contact me.”
Saviano refers, therefore, to a life in continuous movement, certainly anything but monotonous: just think of the recent events, which saw him involved in a defamation trial against Giorgia Meloni, following which the writer was sentenced to a fine of one thousand euros, or to the cancellation of his program «Insider – Face to face with crime», a program on mafias which should have been broadcast starting from 4 November but which was cancelled, according to Saviano, following government censorship. Fabio Fazio also expressed his opinion on Saviano’s exclusion from Rai, defining the decision as absurd: «Roberto is one of the greatest contemporary intellectuals, a writer protected by the State who however cannot go on state TV, it’s absurd».
And also on social media, Saviano takes the opportunity to denounce, in some way, the absurdity of the Italian situation: «I know that Italy is a country that is the enemy of books, which is why I also appeal abroad, but I also know that there are many good librarians and booksellers: write to me about the possibility of making my library public.”
The reference is veiled but present: where the State is the enemy of books, Saviano appeals to the honesty of private individuals, of individual citizens. The invitation to change is addressed, once again, to them.