Chasing Matriarcy in Kihnu
Matriarchy is not a society where women are at the top of a hierarchical pyramid, because matriarchy is not the mirror of patriarchy. In a matriarchy, hierarchies simply do not exist: if matriarchy is a spiral, patriarchy is a line. In a matriarchy every life, every being, is considered to be part of a network of relations and processes, because everything that exists is considered in terms of its relationship with everything else. In this booklet we delve deeper into this topic, through the study and observation of Kihnu society, defined by many people as the last matriarchy in Europe.
This book is written as a result of a field research supported by Creative Europe Fund.
Published in Italian & in English.
Città Ecofemminista
THINKING OF AN ECOFEMINIST CITY
Imagining an ecofeminist city is a dizzying process. Because we have a lot of emptiness around us while we do it, we are tightrope walkers on a wire towards what is truly new, and we have to learn to do something that no one has ever taught us before: think about what we desire, the life we would like, our most intimate needs, and do it simultaneously thinking about the needs of all other living beings, and those of nature. And then we have to imagine creating a space that contains us all together, in our entirety and in our diversity. For this reason, imagining a feminist city is an activity that must be done collectively.
Imagining an ecofeminist city is a dizzying process. Because we have a lot of emptiness around us while we do it, we are tightrope walkers on a wire towards what is truly new, and we have to learn to do something that no one has ever taught us before: think about what we desire, the life we would like, our most intimate needs, and do it simultaneously thinking about the needs of all other living beings, and those of nature. And then we have to imagine creating a space that contains us all together, in our entirety and in our diversity. For this reason, imagining a feminist city is an activity that must be done collectively.
Published in Italian. Soon also available in English!
Widina of Knossos. The Ancient Girl
What would a woman from a society so different from ours, like the Minoan one, think of us if she happened to be in our day? How would she behave and how would she be welcomed? What would her reflections on our life be, if her points of reference were so different from ours that she couldn’t even understand how our society works, and what our values are?
Widina, by pure chance, is saved from the terrible earthquake that destroys the temple where she is a priestess of the Goddess, an earthquake that determines the beginning of the decline of her civilization, the last and great matriarchal bastion of the European area.
And here, the story of her adventure and extra-ordinary experience.
Published in Italian and in French.
Intersex
What happens when the beauty of a body is not described by our standards?
But what happens if a person is born intersex? What are their rights? We try to talk about it in this book, where you will also find an interview with Stephan Mills, an Intersex activist, who tells us about their experience and explains the issue from their point of view.
Published in Italian.
Ecofeminism: Illustrated History
Ecofeminism is a school of thought born in the seventies. Despite the fact that it is not very well known, it is becoming increasingly topical. Due to the ongoing environmental and social crisis that our system is facing, it is now impossible to look at the problems of our society from different perspectives and angles, especially in order to question our beliefs, our way of thinking and of acting. The ecofeminist theory speaks to us and incites us to re-think a new connection with nature, a new way of life where the sacred and the secular are neither separated nor determined by someone hierarchically higher than us. To speak of ecofeminism, one cannot help but mention the origin of today’s mentality, the harmful separation between nature and culture, and the intrinsic connection between patriarchy and capitalism.
I talked about all those and more in this book!
Published in Italian & in English.
Perfect Love Square: The True Story of Tommasina Lomellini
In the heart of the historic center of Genoa there is a small square and an adjacent alley that have a seemingly very romantic name: they are called the square and alley of perfect love.
Tourists and citizens passing through this part of the center dream of moments of uncontaminated love to share with their loved ones.
But the name of the square and the alley have a history that is not only romantic: it is the story of a woman and her love for Louis XII, King of France.
She is Thomassina Lomellini, a cultured and strong-willed Genoese noblewoman, he is a king and the ending of their story is not at all "happy". At least not for Thomassina...
Published in Italian.
Laika
"Three days before the launch, Laika was locked inside the satellite. Her position was so narrow that she could lie down, sit or stand on her legs, but she could not turn around. The launch took place on November 3, 1957 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome space station in Kazakhstan, at 5:30 a.m. Moscow time.”
Published in Italian.
Vintage Mémoire. Storie d’amori in bianco e nero
Inspired by old photographs found in Istanbul markets, Vintage Mémoire is an anthology of stories inspired by the unknown people in these photos. What happened to their story? Why were their faces, their memories, evicted from their homes, trunks and frames where they lived for a lifetime? In this book, their lives are imagined by looking at their expressions and the clothes they were immortalized in these shots. They are reconstructed starting from the way their eyes look at the lens. And some of the stories, as in real life, overlap with those of other characters, so as to see how everything changes, when the point of view changes.
Published in Italian.
Sororize: Anomalous females of all sizes
There are an infinite number of ways to be a female: this book is a collection of stories focused on true diversity, where the protagonists are exceptional, extra-ordinary females: they differ completely from the parameters that define the idea of “normality”, and are therefore heroines who do not chase the idea of success as we understand it today, but instead seek to “be”, making us feel comfortable with our own oddities and anomalies.
Published in Italian.
Dolce Vegan
A cookery book about vegan dessert, and a general manifesto about a political approach to food. Published by Kolektif Kitap, February 2018.
Published in Turkish.
Josephine / A Pathway To Freedom
The book “Josephine” is an illustrated story that speaks about personal liberation: “We have to get rid of everything we know to imagine and accept whatever new is coming … Our daily actions lay the foundation for societies to come.” Josephine. A pathway to freedom is an illustrated tale for grownups that narrates the story of a young woman and her life path towards freedom. More than that, it aims to inspire its readers to never give up looking for the pure essence of their precious self. The book is introduced with a preface that addresses the importance of freeing your mind and thoughts, in a society that subtly tempts you to do otherwise, and it closes with a special, imagined letter from one of the author’s favourite writers, Virginia Woolf.
Published in English.
Ecological Community
Ecological Community is the perfect guide to teach ecological fundamentals to children aged 6-11. The book enables children to realize their ability to solve a diverse range of problems they face, from the lack of a volleyball court in the neighbourhood to climate change. Sophia, Jack, Lily, Nick, Mila, Leo, and Nora are all friends living in the same neighbourhood where they want to open a cafe, but they need money for that. What can they do? They share things they do not need in their homes with those who need them, visit shopkeepers and cooperate with them, meet with staff in the neighbourhood who help, for example, the firefighters or the police officers, and they do not forget to play games! The book not only teaches the basic elements of ecology such as solar energy, recycling, and composting, but it also invites children to brainstorm so they can internalize those elements. This opens the door to creating a habitable world by explaining the basic principles of ecology.
Published in English and Turkish.