So what can you do in such cases? Well, you take a break for a tasty snack, chat with fellow writers to get to know each other better and ease the tension. Calmly, we then filled the board with notes, names, dates and plots to organise and interweave the storylines.

As everything became clearer, we started working on the dialogue to add more realism and vibrancy to the scenes that were being created. Finally, with a good amount of material in hand, we pushed the seven characters towards the ultimate crisis point of the story, when the threads intertwine, the enemies seem to have the upper hand and everything is on the verge of collapse. To get out of it, this time we've come up with something a little more... Explosive!

You don't think we're going to tell you the ending, do you? You'll have to read our book to find out! And how? As part of the Settimana della Lingua Italiana del Mondo, we'll be celebrating the conclusion of this writing adventure on October 18 at 5.30 pm at the Dante Alighieri Auckland, discussing the Una storia in Italia project and presenting our work!

In the meantime, a heartfelt thank you to our incredible students who never lost heart and dove headfirst into the story — and into history! — and to all the teachers and colleagues at the Società Dante Alighieri Auckand who contributed with their invaluable help — especially to the fantastic graphic designer and cover artist Riccardo Lucignani. And thanks to the Società Dante Alighieri Sede Centrale, without whom this project wouldn't have been possible!

Barbara & Elia

Celebrated Italian art exhibition reaches Auckland

Figure per Gianni Rodari – Illustrators for Gianni Rodari

Free entry

17 – 25 Oct 2020, 10am – 4pm daily

Newmarket Station Studio, 1 Newmarket Station Square, Auckland

A prestigious and colourful exhibition of Italian children’s book illustrators will open on 17 October in Newmarket for Artweek Auckland and the Italian Language Week in the World.

Travelling to New Zealand after launches in Bologna and San Francisco, Illustrators for Gianni Rodari (Figure per Gianni Rodari) will appeal to kids and adults alike. From a nation synonymous with art and style come these vibrant works brought together to celebrate the great children’s author Gianni Rodari on the centenary of his birth.

Rodari, who bears comparison with Margaret Mahy, was the first Italian writer to receive the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award, in 1970 (Mahy also received this ‘Nobel Prize of children’s literature’, in 2006). Rodari’s work includes fairy stories, nursery rhymes, short stories and novels, as well as his famous essay The Grammar of Fantasy.

Rodari’s work has been translated and reprinted the world over and remains an inexhaustible source of inspiration for numerous Italian illustrators, who down the years have put his words into pictures.

This exhibition showcases some of those artists who in the last fifty years have illustrated Rodari’s texts. From legends like Luzzati and Munari through to young contemporary artists, this exhibition gives a fascinating overview of Italian illustration excellence.

Featured artists: Bruno Munari, Emanuele Luzzati, Altan, Beatrice Alemagna, Gaia Stella, Olimpia Zagnoli, Manuel Fior, Alessandro Sanna, Valerio Vitali, Simona Mulazzani, Chiara Armellini, Anna Laura Cantone, Fulvio Testa, Maria Chiara Di Giorgio, Giulia Orecchia, Nicoletta Costa, Federico Maggioni, Francesca Ghermandi, Pia Valentinis, Vittoria Facchini, Elenia Beretta.

Organised internationally by: Fiera di Bologna, BCBF, Regione E-R, Regione E-R Cultura d’Europa, Einaudi Ragazzi, Vivere all’Italiana (MAECI).

Auckland edition curated by Nicoletta Benella and organised by Dante Alighieri Society Auckland and Festival Italiano Auckland in collaboration with the Italian Embassy in New Zealand, Oratia Books, NEWMARKET.

Part of the Artweek Auckland 2020 Programme and the Italian Festival Season in Auckland