Internazionale a Ferrara: Twenty Years of Journalism in the Heart of the City

For three days, journalists, writers and audiences from different parts of the world come together in Ferrara’s historic centre to discuss what is happening around the globe. This is Internazionale a Ferrara, the festival launched in 2007 by the magazine Internazionale, which celebrates its twentieth edition in 2026.

Talks, discussions, documentaries and audio productions make up a programme spread across several venues in the city centre. But part of the experience also happens outside: on the walks between events, in the squares you cross along the way and in the way the festival and the city blend together for one weekend.

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^{The photographs in the gallery are taken from the original Filo Magazine article. Photo credits: Alessandro Abbasciano, Giorgio Montersino and the Occhiaperti.it archive.}

From a Programme on a Single Sheet of Paper to Twenty Years of Festival

The first edition of Internazionale a Ferrara took place in 2007. The entire programme fitted onto a single A4 sheet, with no events running at the same time.

Chiara Nielsen, deputy editor of Internazionale and director of the festival, particularly remembers arriving in Piazza Municipale and finding it packed with people, especially young people. That was when the organisers realised their experiment had tapped into a strong desire to meet, exchange ideas and discuss current affairs in person.

Since then, the festival has maintained a close connection with the magazine. Nielsen describes it as a kind of special issue brought to life together with the audience, where the themes and perspectives found in the magazine take the form of talks, screenings and other events.

When the Festival Meets Ferrara

One of the defining features of Internazionale a Ferrara is that its venues are concentrated in the historic centre. You can leave one event and walk to the next, crossing the city’s streets and squares along the way.

It is something that also strikes visitors from abroad. Nielsen recalls the surprise of international guests arriving in a city where getting around on foot is easy, bicycles move through medieval streets and a moated castle stands right in the centre.

Over the years, the organisers have considered expanding the festival over a wider area, but its compact setting has remained one of its distinctive features.

During Internazionale, even getting from one venue to another becomes part of the day: a talk, a walk, a square, then another event. And if the venue you were heading for is full, you can always change your plans and end up listening to something you had never expected to attend.

Different Ways to Explore What Is Happening in the World

The festival brings Internazionale’s journalistic approach to a live audience, with the aim of providing tools to understand contemporary issues through perspectives from different countries and contexts.

Alongside talks with journalists and international guests, the festival has introduced a range of formats over the years. These include Reporter Slam, as well as Mondovisioni and Mondoascolti, dedicated respectively to documentaries and audio productions.

Over the past twenty years, Ferrara has welcomed guests including John Berger, Arundhati Roy, Svetlana Alexievich, Denis Mukwege, Angela Davis, Hanif Kureishi and Marjane Satrapi, alongside many other voices from international journalism and culture.

This variety also allows you to create your own version of the festival: start with the events you have already marked on your programme, but leave enough room to change direction, venue or subject as the day unfolds.